The FFT-G Model, Implementation Fidelity, and Program Costs

This presentation describes the Functional Family Therapy program and the modifications made to it to maximize its suitability for use with a gang-involved population. It describes the local agencies and therapists providing the treatment services and the training and supervision of the therapists. It also reports on implementation fidelity and program costs.

Implementation fidelity is measured in the study of Functional Family Therapy for Gang Populations (FFT-G) in several ways. Eighteen questions about types of services received since randomization were included in the post-test interview for all caregivers (treatment and control). FFT-G therapists used a set of standardized monitoring checklists and case notes to record progress with each family during treatment. These checklists were entered into a computerized tracking system that is used by the FFT national organization and the state FFT coordinator to measure the adherence of each family’s services to the FFT-G model.

The Philadelphia agency that manages Medicaid funds provided an accounting of the types and costs of services delivered to members of the treatment and control groups during the study period. These records are used to further describe the services received by the treatment and control groups as well as to describe the cost of the interventions delivered to both groups. Additional FFT cost elements related to providing training and supervision for FFT-G, paid through the study grant, are also be included in the cost accounting. This presentation describes the data sources used to measure the quality of implementation of the treatment and control conditions and presents results regarding the number and percentage of study participants who completed treatment, their treatment dosage, adherence to the FFT-G model, the quality of treatment delivery, and program costs.