Functional Family Therapy – CIMH Development Teams

Aggregate Evaluation Dashboard Report

CSS Data Download

Program Inception through January, 2009

Clients Served by Active FFT Therapists

This aggregate evaluation dashboard report describes a subset of youth referred to one of 29 Functional Family Therapy (FFT) teams throughout the state of California participating in the CIMH-sponsored FFT Development Teams. This report presents available CSS data for youth and families served from each program’s inception through January, 2009. Data are only included for youth/families served by FFT therapists who are active/current at the time of this report.

Table 1. FFT Status – Clients Referred to ActiveFFT Therapists (N=2473)
Entry Rate* / Dropout Rate*
94.5%
(n=2337) / 36.3%
(n=849)

*Please see Appendix A. for a description of Entry and Dropout Rates.

Table 2. Client Demographics – Youth Served by Active Therapists Who Entered FFT (n=2337)
Gender / Ethnicity
Age (in years) / Female / Male / African-American / Asian/ Pacific Islander / Biracial / Caucasian / Hispanic/ Latino / Other
14.3
n=1038 / 35.0%
n=819 / 62.0%
n=1448 / 20.4%
n=476 / 1.0%
n=23 / 5.9%
n=139 / 26.9%
n=628 / 37.6%
n=879 / 1.6%
n=38

Note1: Percentages may not total 100 due to missing data.

Note2: Age calculated as the difference between the date of the first session and youth date of birth.

Table 3. FFT Process Data – Youth Served by Active Therapists Who Had At Least One Session in
the Behavior Change Phase (n=1647)
Families With At Least One* Completed Youth Outcome Questionnaire± (YOQ) Prior to FFT (Pre-YOQ) / Families With At Least One* CompletedCounseling Process Questionnaire± (CPQ) in Engagement & Motivation and/or Behavior Change
76.6%
(n=1262) / 65.3%
(n=1076)

*Including youth self-report, mother report, and/or father report.

±Please see Appendix A. for a description of the Youth Outcome Questionnaires and the Counseling Process Questionnaires.

Table 4. FFT Process Data – Youth Served by Active Therapists Who Completed FFT* (n=884)
Average Number of Sessions / Counseling Process Questionnaire (CPQ) Data –
Generalization Phase
Total / E & M Phase / B. C. Phase / Gen. Phase / Mother Report / Father Report / Youth Report
Avg
1-16 / % ↑
17-18 / Avg
1-16 / % ↑
17-18 / Avg
1-16 / % ↑
17-18
14.3 / 4.9 / 5.8 / 3.5 / 6.2 / 180% / 5.9 / 141% / 6.0 / 138%

*Please see Appendix A. for a definition of Completed.

Table 5. FFT Outcome Data – Youth Served by Active Therapists Who Completed FFT (n=884)
Youth Outcome Questionnaire (YOQ) –
Percent Improvement Pre/Post
Mother / Father / Youth
27.0%**
(n=536)
[pre=65.6] / 19.4%**
(n=163)
[pre=64.0] / 21.1%**
(n=620)
[pre=52.2]

Note1: Possible YOQ scores range from -16-240. Scores of 46 or higher for youth self-report and 47 or higher for parent/caregiver report are most similar to clinical populations.

Note2: Follow-up analyses revealed no significant differences in FFT entry rate, dropout rate, or change in outcomes by gender or ethnicity.

** A statistically significant difference, p .01.

Graph 1. FFT Outcome Data – Youth Served by Active Therapists Who Completed FFT (n=884)

Appendix A. Description of FFT Process and Outcome Measures

FFT Client Status – Definitions for Entry, Dropout, and Completed

The Entry Rate reflects the proportion of youth who were referred for FFT and had at least one session with an FFT therapist. The numerator is the number of youth with at least one FFT session; and the denominator is the number of youth referred for FFT.

The Dropout Rate is the proportion of youth who started FFT and did not advance to the generalization phase. The numerator has two components: 1) the number of youth who entered FFT and had a therapist-identified dropout reason; and/or, 2) the number of youth who had at least one outcome measure completed, but no sessions in the generalization phase (suggesting that FFT ended prior to the generalization phase). The denominator is the number of youth who entered FFT (those with at least one session).

A client is considered to have Completed FFT if: 1) they participated in at least one session in the generalization phase; and, 2) there was at least one outcome measure (including the Therapist Outcome Measure, Client Outcome Measures completed by youth and/or parent, and/or Youth Outcome Questionnaires).

Counseling Process Questionnaire (CPQ)

The Counseling Process Questionnaire (CPQ) is a self-report process measure completed by each family member participating in FFT at every other session during a course of FFT. The CPQ assesses family members’ perceptions of the therapeutic process, therapeutic progress, and the therapeutic alliance.

Items 1-16 on the CPQ are considered the “core” items and responses are scored on a 7-point Likert scale. The average of these 16 items is reported for each of three family members when available: the youth client, mothers, and fathers.

Items 17 and 18 assess family members’ perceptions of changes that have happened since they started the counseling process. Item 17 asks family members to report on how good or bad things were when they first started coming to counseling; and item 18 asks how good or bad things are now (at the time the questionnaire was completed.) The percent improvement from Item 17 to Item 18 is reported for each of three family members when available: the youth client, mothers, and fathers.

CPQ data presented in this report reflect family members’ perceptions in the generalization phase of FFT.

Youth Outcome Questionnaires (YOQ)

TheYouth Outcome Questionnaires (YOQ) are outcome measures completed before and after participation in FFT. These 64-item standardized questionnaires assess youth’s global mental health functioning according to both youth self-reports and reports of their parents/caregivers. The percent improvement from pre-FFT to post-FFT is reported for each of three family members when available: the youth client, mothers, and fathers.

CIMH functional family THERAPY Outcome Evaluation Report

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