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KDOC's statewide launch of FFT for juvenile offenders now underway

The Garden City Telegram - 3/4/2017

March 02--The Kansas Department of Corrections celebrated on Thursday a new Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program for at-risk juvenile offenders in the criminal justice system that recently was launched in 52 western Kansas counties and 29 northeastern counties.

The event took place at the Finney County Department of Corrections, 607 W. Santa Fe St., and officials from the Kansas Department of Corrections and EmberHope, charged with administering FFT services to the region, gathered to discuss the merits of the program that launched Feb. 6.

Shelly Duncan, president and CEO of EmberHope, said she was honored KDOC chose to expand the FFT program to western Kansas.

"The reception we've received already from western Kansas has been phenomenal," she said. "The partnerships we're creating will make a significantly positive impact in the lives of the youth and families and the communities we will serve."

EmberHope has offered FFT in Wichita and Sedgwick County for more than 15 years and will expand those services to 10 judicial districts in the western half of the state, including the 15th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 30th.

The evidence-based program, which is intended to curtail rates of juvenile criminal activity and recidivism through family therapy sessions, already serves four participating families in Garden City with referrals for one more local family and another in Scott City.

The program has been operating in southeast Kansas by Eckerd Kids for a year as an alternative to out-of-home youth placement and incarceration. The program is a data-driven combination of therapy and supervision for juvenile offenders being deployed statewide in three regions: northeast, southeast and west central.

KDOC Secretary Joseph Norwood said during the conference that KDOC places a high priority on evidence-based programs such as FFT.

As someone who has spent the majority of his career working in adult corrections, he said, "I think where we've got the most significant potential for gains in the criminal justice system is with our youth, and that's why I'm so excited about what's going on today in Kansas."

EmberHope has enlisted three therapists for the regional deployment of FFT, including Andrea Holden, a social worker based in the Garden City/Dodge City area; James Lund, a marriage and family therapist based in Salina who covers the Hutchinson area; and Tamara Bailey, a marriage and family therapist based in the Wichita area.

EmberHope will allot each therapist a caseload of 10 to 12 families, according to Michael Brewer, FFT and addiction services manager at EmberHope.

Brewer said that within the first year of operation, there could be a population of up to 150 families using FFT services. Therapists will work with families for three to four months.

Brewer explained that participating families will largely determine the duration of therapy sessions, which would be held a minimum of once a week and last anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.

EmberHope is searching for a fourth therapist to supplement the 52-county caseload that would ideally be based in the northwestern part of the state.

"That's one area that we've been struggling to secure a staff member in, and it's creating some barriers to be able to cover from other areas," Brewer said.

Brewer added that EmberHope is not daunted by the expansive geography of the region they've been assigned, but he did say that Kansas' winter weather could create some barriers in accessibility to rural areas.

"We have been providing services as an agency in western Kansas since the late '60s, so we actually have a lot of experience from the standpoint of the geography and the travel," Duncan said. "That is something very common for us. It does require a lot of drive time, but we knew that going into it, and we're just really excited to be able to help the families."

Fourteen families are participating in the FFT program throughout the west-central region, with five inactive referrals still being processed.

Brewer said referrals are inactive when eligible juveniles are still in placement in a YRCII (youth residential center), in detention or in a foster care home.

"They're in placement, and we're trying to accommodate that reentry population," he said.

Jennifer Mata, who oversees placement of juveniles for Community Corrections in Finney County, said each of the participants so far have been put into out-of-home placement before and are returning for in-home placement on a trial basis.

"I believe they have just barely started meeting with the therapist the previous week, but they've all had really good results or have talked highly of the therapist so far," she said.

The program has been used in other states for 40 years, effectively reducing reliance on out-of-home placement and any unintended negative impacts on youth and their families. According to KDOC, FFT has reduced recidivism state by state from 25 to 60 percent.

KDOC also recently reported that 89 youths in the juvenile justice system in southeast Kansas entered the FFT program in lieu of out-of-home placement or incarceration. Of those, only three were placed in out-of-home settings during FFT treatment.

This number is touted by KDOC as a significant improvement from results found in a 2014 study that indicated more than 51 percent of Kansas juveniles discharged from a YRCII remained out of home for six months after their discharge.

"Youth who are participating in the FFT program in southeast Kansas are responding better to treatment, not committing additional crimes, maintaining their bonds to families and costing the state less by staying out of more restrictive settings," said Terri Williams, KDOC deputy secretary of juvenile services. "We couldn't be more excited to see this proven program spread to the rest of the state."

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(c)2017 The Garden City Telegram (Garden City, Kan.)

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