The latest in a string of investments in proven US-made interventions suggests that the UK Government may have broken a much criticized habit of awarding contracts for programs without insisting that they are rigorously implemented.

Grants of $800,000 will enable Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC), which originates from the Oregon Social Learning Center, to be rolled out in eight English local authorities,

In addition, the Government has awarded a contract to the recently formed National Academy of
Parenting Practitioners (NAPP) to ensure the program is implemented with “high fidelity” to the original Oregon model.

The UK announcement follows the successful piloting of MTFC – fostering for seven to 11 year olds with emotional or behavioral problems – in various sites across the country.

The program has been renamed MTFCE for UK consumption (the E stands for England) and some minor adaptations have been made in light of the legal and cultural context this side of the Atlantic. Researchers at the Universities of York and Manchester, are overseeing a randomized controlled trial, that will test the program's impact on children’s behavioral and emotional difficulties as well as on their school grades and peer relationships.

The extra dimension

Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care differs from traditional foster care in a number of ways. To maximize a sense of continuity, it requires children to remain in one placement for a minimum of six months . During that time trained foster parents work with family therapists, child therapists, youth skills trainers and the program supervisor to create a positive and predictable environment for the child.

Another distinguishing feature is a significant investment in birth parents to guarantee that the pattern of encouragement, consistency and discipline is carried forward upon return to the family home.

The theory is that significant emotional disturbance and behavioral problems can be traced back to “coercive parenting”: the child acts out, and the parent shouts; the child likes the attention, so acts out again – and the parent shouts louder.

In one evaluation 79 adolescent boys ordered to enter “out of home” care by the juvenile court were randomly assigned to either the MTFC program or to care as usual (a group care institution). They found that program participants were better behaved (significantly fewer arrests) and had better relationships with adults and peers.

[See also: Getting moribund welfare systems out of jail the Oregon way]