Teaching-Family Model for

residential care is effective for

troubled youth
Humane teaching Results with lasting
behavior changes

Youth with antisocial behaviors, victims of

abuse, often wards of the state
Boys and girls latency age and teenage youth
Structured Family Style Group Homes
Team of treatment planning that often includes the
youth
Teaching interactions
Motivate youth
Social skills and academic and independent living skills
Teaching parents continual education
Program Evaluations and Certification
Therapy complements the program, does not run it

An Integrated Model

All People, youth and adult alike gain skill

development within the TFM
Employees at all levels give and receive
feedback to each other
Youth give feed back about Teaching Parents
Consumer Evaluations
Certifications

TFM is different
Teaching-Family Model
Empirically Tested
Outcome: Low police and
court issues after care
Treatment team, including
teaching parents,
consultant, therapist. CBT
Focused on the future and
the solution
Individualized treatment
plan

Traditional Program Model

Anecdotal
Outcome: continued police
and court issues after care
Psychotherapist run, Staff
follow directions and have
little say in treatment plan
Focused on the past and the
issues
General treatment plan
(template)

Behavioristic approach
All Behavior is learned therefore it can be
changed
Learning theory, B.F. Skinner misconceptions
"Positive Teaching Works, Punishment
Doesn't" ~Liz Arner
Avoid nothing, teach to everything ~Jeff
Bright

Humane Practice

Help one child, help

generations to come ~
Lila Bjorkland, Founder
of Utah Youth Village

Best Adult / Youth Relationships

Youth are given a choice, not forced

Good things happen with the best choice vs do what I say or be

restrained

Shape behaviors into healthy social actions. A slower process

that allows pattern changes that last:
Behavior changes remain with youth after returning home or
moving to less restrictive environments because the youth made
the choice, was not forced
Confidence builds with youth making their own choices, not always
looking to the authority for direction
Generalization and natural / logical consequences

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. Family-Like Environment Better for Troubled Children and Teens. APA, 2003.
Web. 16 Sept. 2014.

Arner, Liz. In-person Interview. 9 Sept. 2014.

Bright, Jeff. Email Interview. 28 Sept. 2014.

Dowd,Tom. and Jeff Tierney. Teaching Social Skills to Youth. Nebraska: Boys Town Press, 2005. 1-6. Print.

Fixsen, Dean and Karen Blase. Teaching-Family Bibliography: The Evidence Bases For the Teaching-Family Model.
University of South Florida: Louis de la Parte Flordia Mental Health Institute, 2002. Web. 5 Sept. 2014

Greeff, Teri. Telephone Interview. 9 Sept. 2014.

Larzelere, Robert, Daniel Daly, Jerry Davis, M. Beth Chmelka and Michael Handwerk. "Outcome Evaluation of Girls and
Boys Town's Family Home Program." Education and Treatment of Children. 27 (2004):130-149. Print.

Lee, Bethany, Charlotte Bright, Deborah Svoboda, Sunday Fakunmoju, and Richard Barth. "Outcomes of Group Care for
Youth: a review of Comparative Studies." Research on Social Work Practice 21(2) (2011). 177-189. Web.
9 Sept. 2014.

Slater, Lauren. Opening Skinner's Box: great psychological experiments of the twentieth century. New York: Norton
& Co, 2004. (6-31). Print.