G2

MULTIDIMENSIONAL TREATMENT FOSTER CARE FOR PRESCHOOLERS (MTFC-P)

Presenters: Jackie Bruce

Abstract Category: Research for Clinical Practice

Instruction Level: Intermediate

Presentation: Click Here

Description:

Description of the MTFC-P program and program evaluation results.

Abstract:

There are over half-million children in foster care in the U.S., and more than a third are under six years old. Some of these children show remarkable resiliency following maltreatment and subsequent separations from primary caregivers. However, surveys have shown that many young children in foster care lag behind their peers in cognitive, social-emotional, and even physical development.

In order to reduce the likelihood of poor outcomes in this population, early intervention programs are needed. Such programs are especially important during developmental transitions, when new skills are acquired and put to use in novel contexts. During the preschool years, for example, children must learn social and self-regulatory skills necessary to be able to function in primary school. To the extent that children have the support to successfully navigate such transitions, future successes may follow.

Yet for foster children, prior history and current circumstances may make the acquisition of these skills very challenging. This presentation will focus on Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P), an evidence-based intervention specifically designed for 3-5 year old foster children. MTFC-P employs social learning principles within a family-based intervention framework to help facilitate positive outcomes across a range of behavioral and social-emotional domains.

A randomized clinical trial to evaluate MTFC-P is ongoing, allowing for examination of intervention outcomes into middle childhood. In this presentation, we will provide information about the impact of the intervention on a number of domains of child and family functioning. For example, prior reports have documented the impact of the intervention on long-term placement stability: fewer intervention condition children have re-entered foster care following adoption or reunification, and the risk of multiple prior foster placements on permanent placement failures was greatly reduced.