Evidence-Based Models

Evidence-Based and Promising Practice Models of
In-Home Family Treatment in Connecticut

Connecticut is at the cutting edge in the development of a comprehensive service array of empirically supported treatments for children, adolescents and families with a wide array of treatment needs. Connecticut stakeholders have recognized that there cannot be a “one size fits all” approach to intervention and have embraced the commitment to a continuum of services to maintain youth with serious behavioral, psychiatric and substance abuse concerns in their homes, in their communities and out of more restrictive settings wherever possible. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), Connecticut Support Services Division (CSSD) and the Behavioral Health Partnership - Beacon Health have continued to support intensive in home treatment services to meet this vision through providing funding for in-home treatment programs for children and adolescents including:

• Multisystemic Therapy (MST)
  “Standard” MST for acting out adolescents.
  (Learn more about MST at Wheeler)
• MST Transition-Aged Youth (MST-TAY)
• Also known as MST-Emerging Adults (MST-EA)
  For older adolescents / young adults with legal involvement and psychiatric treatment needs who are negotiating the transition to adulthood.
• Multi Dimensional Family Therapy (MDFT)
  For youth with substance abuse concerns, acting out or returning to the community from residential or other out-of-home placement.
  (Learn more about MDFT at Wheeler)
• Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
  For youth with acting out and other behavioral health concerns.
• Fuctional Family Therapy for Foster Care (FFT-FC)
  Therapeutic foster care, treatment team works with the foster family to maintain stability and with the bio family or other permanency resource to promote successful reunification
• Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (IICAPS)
  For children and adolescents with psychiatric concerns placing them at risk for out-of- home placement or hospitalization.
  (Learn more about IICAPS at Wheeler)
• Child First
  Program for parents and their infants or young children showing early signs of emotional, behavioral or developmental difficulties and/or exposure to trauma.
  (Learn more about Child First at Wheeler)

Connecticut also embraces research-supported in-home treatment interventions to address other family issues that impact positive outcomes for youth, such as child abuse and neglect and parental substance abuse:

• MST Building Stronger Families (MST-BSF)
  For families referred by DCF due to concerns about abuse/neglect, and where there is also concern about parental substance abuse. At least one child in the home is age 6 or older.
  (Learn more about MST-BSF at Wheeler)
• Family-Based Recovery (FBR)
  For families referred by DCF due to concerns about parental substance abuse where there is an infant or toddler in the home.