Program Delivery Option: Foster / Kinship Care

Pathways to Success is an intensive, youth-driven case management model with the long-term goal of preventing homelessness among youth with foster care experience. The model is built around case managers, called Navigators, who are trained in a case management approach called Engaging Youth in a Coach-Like Way. In this approach, Navigators develop a coaching relationship to support youth. Youth direct the intervention by setting goals related to the outcome areas of housing, education, employment, health and well-being, and permanent connections. Meanwhile, Navigators deploy an individualized services array tailored to each youth’s needs, strengths, and goals. In addition to Engaging Youth in a Coach-like Way, Navigators use a variety of tools and resources to support youth in these domains, such as flex funds and referrals to relevant resources.

PreVenture^® is a prevention and early intervention program for youth aged 12 to 18 years. The program offers brief, workshops that teach personality-specific cognitive-behavioral skills to youth to promote mental health and reduce the risk of substance use.

PreVenture^® aims to promote self-efficacy and cognitive-behavioral skills among youth to help them cope with the numerous developmental challenges that many young people face, such as academic stress, peer pressure, interpersonal conflict, and identity development. This personalized approach aims to empower young people to build resilience and develop effective coping strategies to help them better manage their personality style. The program is delivered in two 90-minute personality-focused workshops (either online or in-person) either in a school or community setting and involves group and individual exercises, is manual-based, but guided by a trained facilitator.

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up – Early Childhood (ABC-EC), developed for children ages 2 through 4, targets several key issues that have been identified as problematic among children who have experienced adversity and/or demonstrate socioemotional or behavioral concerns. These young children often behave in ways that push caregivers away. The first intervention component is designed to help caregivers reinterpret children’s behavioral signals so that they provide nurturance even when it is not elicited. Nurturance does not come naturally to many caregivers, but children who have experienced adversity especially need nurturing care. Thus, the intervention aims to help caregivers provide nurturing care even if it does not come naturally. Second, many children who have experienced adversity are dysregulated behaviorally and biologically. The second intervention component is designed to help caregivers provide a responsive, predictable, warm environment that enhances young children’s behavioral and regulatory capabilities. The intervention aims to help caregivers follow their children’s lead with delight. The third intervention component is designed to help caregivers implement calming strategies and be present psychologically and physically when their child is dysregulated.

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up – Infant (ABC-I) is rated separately on this website.

NTDC, the comprehensive no-cost curriculum, is designed to tackle separation, loss, grief, and trauma in adoption and foster care. This cutting-edge resource offers adoptive, kinship, and foster parents flexible education that aims to empower them over the course of time and at the right time. Training is provided both as a synchronous classroom-based learning experience and through asynchronous “Right-Time” online modules that are available at any time for NTDC participants to build further knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. While this training originated from key concepts to support children with intense service needs, it is designed to be used in any out-of-home placement, including with kin or adoptive caregivers.

Note: NTDC has also adapted to address the unique needs of indigenous communities; however, this separate manualized version is not part of this program review.

The Developmental Trauma and Attachment Program (DTAP) provides a comprehensive approach for children facing the lasting effects of trauma and attachment disruption. Through a fully integrated model combining attachment-focused therapy with trauma-informed practices, DTAP is designed to address foundational needs for trust, emotional regulation, and resilience.

DTAP also prioritizes caregiver involvement, creating a context for healing that is designed to strengthen the family system and foster lasting change.

SuperBetter is designed to improve mental health, resilience, self-efficacy and the success of clients & students. SuperBetter is an easy-to-teach mindset intervention. The SuperBetter Mindset is a mental framework that uses the psychology of game play in all of life. SuperBetter can be implemented using a curriculum, a tech-enabled solution for classrooms/groups, or a mobile/web app. Educators, parents, therapists & social workers can help their students, children, and clients learn the SuperBetter methodology and then use the methodology as a coaching framework to empower mental health, resilience, self-efficacy, social-emotional skills, and success.

TF-CBT for Youth who have Experienced Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation (TF-CBT for T/CSE) is an advanced training for the use of Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) with youth who have experienced trafficking and/or commercial sexual exploitation and may have also experienced other traumas. This training outlines T/CSE-specific applications of TF-CBT PRACTICE components:

• T/CSE-specific psychoeducation
• Processing T/CSE-specific maladaptive cognitions in trauma narration
• T/CSE-related safety concerns including risk of leaving placement [“running away”] and T/CSE revictimization
• Strategies for addressing common T/CSE clinical challenges such as engagement and retention difficulties and significant emotional and behavioral dysregulation.

There is an emphasis on personal safety and supporting caregiver-youth relationships which are often particular concerns with T/CSE clients. TF-CBT for T/CSE can be used in an array of settings including clinics, homes, residential facilities, and in-patient units. This includes utilization with youth with absent or unavailable caregivers, those in foster care placements, and group homes, consistent with the many settings and circumstances in which youth who experience T/CSE are served.

SPORT (Substance Prevention Optimizing Resiliency Training) Prevention Plus Wellness Middle School Version is a brief substance use prevention and health promotion intervention designed to highlight the positive image benefits of an active lifestyle to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs by youth. In addition, it aims to improve their overall physical and mental well-being.

SPORT (Substance Prevention Optimizing Resiliency Training) Prevention Plus Wellness High School Version is a brief substance use prevention and health promotion intervention designed to highlight the positive image benefits of an active lifestyle to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs by youth. In addition, it aims to improve their overall physical and mental wellbeing.

Nurturing Skills™ for Families (NSF) is a model of the Nurturing Parenting® Programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect by addressing key areas that contribute to a safe and healthy family environment. The program aims to promote positive family practices, enhance parental knowledge and skills, improve communication and problem-solving abilities, build emotional resilience, strengthen family bonds, address risk factors, foster community support, and encourage accountability.

This flexible program is tailored to meet the needs of families with children ranging from prenatal to 19 years old. The Lesson Guide for Parents contains over 80 individual lessons presented across 16 competency areas, with core competency lessons forming the program's basic structure. Additional lessons allow parent educators to customize the program to suit the specific needs of each group or family.

Although the program representatives state that the model can be used with all families, it is only rated in the Interventions for Abusive Behaviors on research with families involved in the child welfare system.