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Treatment Foster Care Oregon

Evidence Rating
Strategies with this rating are most likely to make a difference. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently positive results.
Disparity Rating
No impact on disparities likely
Community Conditions
Safety and social support
Authors
Lead: Bomi Kim Hirsch
Contributor(s): Alison Bergum, Lael Grigg
Acknowledgements: Jennifer Russ
Date Last Updated
September 6, 2016

In the Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) model, severely and chronically delinquent youth join foster families who have received training in behavior management and are connected to TFCO-trained program supervisors through daily phone calls, weekly group meetings, family therapy, and case management (SPTW). Foster parents provide daily structure, set expectations, monitor youths’ behavior, and deliver rewards and consequences while helping youth avoid socially deviant peers (Blueprints). There are TFCO program versions for adolescents (TFCO-A), young children (TFCO-C), and preschoolers (TFCO-P) (TFCO). TFCO was formerly called Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care.

What could this strategy improve?

Expected Benefits

Our evidence rating is based on the likelihood of achieving these outcomes:

  • Reduced recidivism
  • Reduced delinquent behavior
  • Reduced violence
  • Reduced drug use

Potential Benefits

Our evidence rating is not based on these outcomes, but these benefits may also be possible:

  • Reduced teen pregnancy
  • Increased academic achievement
  • Improved mental health
  • Increased foster care placement stability

What does the research say about effectiveness? -+

There is strong evidence that Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) reduces participating youths’ recidivism (SPTW, Osei 2016) and delinquency (OJJDP Model Programs, Blueprints, Turner 2011) compared to peers in group homes. TFCO has also been shown to reduce violent crime (Blueprints, CG-Violence, OJJDP Model Programs), days of incarceration (SPTW, Osei 2016), and drug use (Blueprints, Leve 2013).

For girls, TFCO has been shown to reduce teen pregnancy and increase school attendance and homework completion (SPTW, Rhoades 2013). Juvenile female offenders in TFCO experience greater decreases in psychological problems, depression, and suicidal ideation than girls in group care homes (Poulton 2014, Harold 2013, Kerr 2014). TFCO for preschoolers (TFCO-P) can increase the likelihood of successful, permanent placement for participants and decrease their problem behaviors (CEBC).

A Washington-based analysis estimates that TFCO cost about $8,300 per juvenile offender in 2016, with a benefit to cost ratio of $1.70 (WSIPP-Benefit cost).

Implementation Examples -+

TFCO is used in more than 50 U.S. locations and internationally (Henggeler 2012).

Implementation Resources -+

TFCO - TFC Consultants, Inc. Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO).

Citations -+

* Journal subscription may be required for access.

Blueprints - Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV). Blueprints for healthy youth development.

CEBC - California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC). Information and resources for child welfare professionals: List of programs.

CG-Violence - The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide). Violence.

Harold 2013* - Harold GT, Kerr DCR, Van Ryzin M, et al. Depressive symptom trajectories among girls in the juvenile justice system: 24-month outcomes of an RCT of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care. Prevention Science. 2013;14(5):437–446.

Henggeler 2012* - Henggeler SW, Sheidow AJ. Empirically supported family-based treatments for conduct disorder and delinquency in adolescents. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy. 2012;38(1):30–58.

Kerr 2014* - Kerr DCR, DeGarmo DS, Leve LD, Chamberlain P. Juvenile justice girls’ depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation 9 years after Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2014;82(4):684–693.

Leve 2013* - Leve LD, Kerr DCR, Harold GT. Young adult outcomes associated with teen pregnancy among high-risk girls in a randomized controlled trial of multidimensional treatment foster care. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse. 2013;22(5):421–434.

OJJDP Model Programs - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). OJJDP model programs guide.

Osei 2016* - Osei GK, Gorey KM, Hernandez Jozefowicz DM. Delinquency and crime prevention: Overview of research comparing treatment foster care and group care. Child & Youth Care Forum. 2016;45(1):33–46.

Poulton 2014* - Poulton R, Van Ryzin MJ, Harold GT, et al. Effects of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care on psychotic symptoms in girls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2014;53(12):1279–1287.

Rhoades 2013* - Rhoades KA, Chamberlain P, Roberts R, Leve LD. MTFC for high risk adolescent girls: A comparison of outcomes in England and the United States. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse. 2013;22(5):435–449.

SPTW - Social Programs That Work (SPTW). Full list of programs.

TFCO - TFC Consultants, Inc. Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO).

Turner 2011* - Turner W, Macdonald G. Treatment foster care for improving outcomes in children and young people: A systematic review. Research on Social Work Practice. 2011;21(5):501–527.

WSIPP-Benefit cost - Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP). Benefit-cost results.