This paper summarizes the National Study of Family Treatment Court Best Practices, Outcomes, and Costs (NEFTC).
The National Study of Family Treatment Court Best Practices, Outcomes, and Costs (NEFTC), comprised of two integrated and complementary study components—a family treatment court (FTC) Best Practice Study (BPS) and an FTC Outcome and Cost Study (OCS)—seeks to fill gaps in the understanding of FTCs by measuring the extent to which FTCs are following the FTC Best Practice Standards and assessing who benefits from FTCs (including how FTCs measure families’ risks and needs for program eligibility and service matching), the extent to which FTCs meet the needs of the communities they serve, and the cost efficiencies of implementing such programs. Specifically, the BPS (1) examines the policies and practices of FTCs; (2) assesses the extent to which the policies and procedures of FTCs are aligned with current best practice standards; (3) describes the characteristics of FTCs (e.g., whether they use a parallel, integrated, or hybrid model); (4) describes eligibility requirements; and (5) estimates the number and characteristics of families served by FTCs across the country. The Outcome and Cost Study (OCS) (1) reviews the implementation of four focus sites that reflect the diversity of FTCs across the country; and (2) incorporates child, parent, and family outcomes related to repeat child maltreatment events (i.e., child welfare recidivism) and removals from the home.