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Multimedia Circle of Life (mCOL) is a prevention program designed to serve American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 10–12 that aims to reduce risky behaviors and enhance resilience. mCOL’s theoretical model is represented as a medicine wheel, a Native American cultural symbol, divided into four equal parts each representing one facet of well-being: mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. mCOL teaches youth to use their volition, that is, the power to make their own decisions, to strengthen and balance their medicine wheel.
Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) is an adaptation of Multisystemic Therapy for families who come to the attention of child protective services. MST-CAN aims to prevent child abuse and neglect, ensure child safety, and keep families together by averting placement into foster care or other out-of-home placements. It also aims to reduce emotional and behavioral health problems and increase social support. MST-CAN is delivered to families by a team that includes therapists, a crisis caseworker, and a part-time psychiatrist. A supervisor helps to coordinate and oversee the services and staff. Services are individualized based on each family’s particular needs. MST-CAN is intended for children between the ages of 6 and 17, as well as their families. Families may receive MST-CAN services for six to nine months. They may participate in three to five sessions per week and can access services around the clock, as needed. Usually services are delivered in the family’s home, but location can be flexible based on the needs of the family. All staff receive standard MST training, MST-CAN-specific training, and trauma treatment training.
’Ohana Conferencing (‘OC) is an adaptation of Family Group Decision Making originally designed to support Hawaiian families with children ages 0–17 who are involved in the child welfare system. ‘OC uses traditional Hawaiian practices focused on relationships and community harmony and a family group conference to create and implement a child safety and care plan. ‘OC seeks to engage an extended family group consisting of parents, primary caregivers, individuals with kinship and other connections to the child, and the child whenever possible. ‘OC uses a four-phase process involving (1) program referral, (2) conference coordination, (3) the initial conference, and (4) implementation and re-conferencing. First, in the referral phase, an ‘OC coordinator who is not involved in the case works with child welfare agency staff to reach out to the parents or primary caregivers and help the family decide whether to participate in ‘OC.
30 Days to Family® is a short-term intervention that aims to place children with a family member (i.e., “a relative caregiver”) within 30 days of entering foster care and help ensure the children and relative caregivers have support available. 30 Days to Family is typically implemented by child welfare agencies, but any agency involved with child welfare can implement the program including foster care case management agencies and non-profits. 30 Days to Family Specialists strive to (1) identify family members from all sides of the child’s family and then (2) partner with family members to create a support plan that relies heavily on the child’s natural connections.
Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT) aims to improve relationships between children and their caregivers by reducing or preventing the effects of child physical abuse, exposure to child or family aggression, and hostile family environments. AF-CBT addresses contributors to conflict and abuse, such as harsh parenting practices, coercive family interactions, and heightened stressful life events. AF-CBT also addresses consequences of conflict and abuse, such as aggression or behavioral dysfunction and trauma-related emotional symptoms.
C.A.T. Project, an adaptation of Coping Cat – Individual, is a cognitive-behavioral approach designed to treat adolescents ages 14–17 who are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, separation anxiety disorder) and their parents. Treatment is divided into two parts with eight sessions each. During the first eight sessions, the therapist teaches the adolescent how to recognize anxious feelings and thoughts, use strategies to manage their anxiety, and reward themselves for facing the anxiety. During the last eight sessions, the adolescent completes tasks designed to expose them to anxiety provoking situations based on their specific anxieties. Exposure starts with tasks that are less anxiety provoking and increases gradually to tasks that are more and more anxiety provoking. C.A.T. Project adapts the content of Coping Cat – Individual to address the sources of anxiety and social phobias adolescents may face, with corresponding differences in the exposure tasks. In between sessions, the adolescent completes exercises to aid in skill development.
Celebrating Families!TM (CF!) 0 Thru 3 Years is a supplemental CF! curriculum designed for families with children ages 0–3 in which at least one parent has problematic substance use and is at risk of engaging in domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect. CF! 0 Thru 3 Years aims to break the cycle of addiction in families, improve participants’ healthy living skills, and increase children’s well-being and functioning. CF! 0 Thru 3 Years specifically focuses on helping parents with young children develop a healthy attachment with their children and learn positive parenting skills while in recovery from problematic substance use. The goal for children is that they will feel loved, safe, and secure in their parent’s care. The curriculum engages every member of the family to foster the development of healthy and addiction-free individuals.
Child First, formerly known as Child and Family Interagency Resource, Support, and Training (Child FIRST), is a home-based intervention that aims to promote healthy child and family development through a combination of psychotherapy and care coordination. Child First is provided by a clinical team that includes a mental health clinician and a care coordinator. There are seven major program components: (1) The clinical team starts by engaging and building trust with the family. (2) The clinical team then conducts a comprehensive assessment through clinical history, assessment measures, and observations in the home and other primary environments for the child (e.g., early care and education). The purpose of this component is to help the clinical team understand the child’s health and development, the child’s important relationships, and the challenges that interfere with the caregivers’ ability to support their child’s development. (3) The clinical team and family co-develop a plan of care that is informed by the assessment and used to guide program components 4 through 7.
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an intensive therapy model that aims to support family strengths and relationships, help families heal and grow after stressful experiences, and respect family and cultural values. CPP typically progresses in three stages. During the first stage, providers administer questionnaires and meet with parents/caregivers to familiarize themselves with the family’s needs and create a plan for treatment. During the second stage, providers help children express their feelings through play, strengthen parent-child relationships, and deepen parents’ understanding of their child’s experiences and behaviors. In the third stage, providers celebrate progress with the family and discuss what supports the family needs moving forward.
Coping Cat – Individual is a cognitive-behavioral approach designed to treat children ages 7–13 who are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, separation anxiety disorder) and their parents. Treatment is divided into two parts with eight sessions each. During the first eight sessions, the therapist teaches the child how to recognize anxious feelings and thoughts, use strategies to manage anxiety, and reward themselves for facing the anxiety. During the last eight sessions, the child completes tasks designed to expose them to anxiety provoking situations based on their specific anxieties. Exposure starts with tasks that are less anxiety provoking and increases gradually to tasks that are more and more anxiety provoking. In between sessions, the child completes exercises to aid in skill development. The therapist meets with parents for one session in each part to orient parents to the goals of treatment and teach them how to practice skills at home with their child.