Foster Family-based Treatment Association
The Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA) was established in 1988 to develop, promote, and support Treatment Foster Care (TFC). Since that time, FFTA has grown to become the only national, non-profit association that represents treatment foster care programs across North America. FFTA’s more than 400 member agencies are located in nearly every U.S. state and Canadian province and provide treatment foster care services to over 50,000 children and youth each year.
The Alaska Chapter of FFTA was formed in 2010 with four agencies participating and has grown to include 12 member agencies from Sitka to Fairbanks. AK Child & Family was part of the initial grassroots effort to bring FFTA to Alaska, with the former Director of Community Programs founding the Alaska Chapter. AK Child & Family has remained an active member ever since. The Alaska Chapter meets regularly to address the development and to support the quality of TFC service delivery.
In carrying out FFTA’s mission to strengthen agencies that support families caring for vulnerable children, the association is guided by the following strategic goals:
- Identifying research and promoting best practices in the continuum of treatment / therapeutic foster care.
- Continuing to be the leading voice for public policy and legislation that support best practices.
- Promoting kinship treatment foster care as a valued part of the child welfare continuum.
- Building a Learning Community for members to support one another and to promote best practices.
FFTA and its members work with a network of national and state child welfare advocacy organizations, researchers, mental health professionals, child welfare advisers, and policymakers to ensure that vulnerable children and youth receive community-based supports and services that will help them achieve long-term safety, stability, and well-being in permanent homes and with life-long connections.
FFTA organizes an annual National Conference, facilitates an annual Public Policy Institute and Hill Day in Washington D.C., disseminates a quarterly newsletter, conducts research and publishes on evidence-based practices, provides a network of professional affiliation and produces and promotes treatment foster care program standards.
To learn more about FFTA, you can go directly to the Family Focused Treatment Association (ffta.org) website
