Success Stories
FTC Provides Hope and a Plan to Overcome Addiction
Submitted by Beverly Landingham, FTC Facilitator
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is hearing the success stories of families at follow-up FTCs. I recently met with a mother whose rights were terminated on her two children several years ago in another state; she then moved to Florida, gave birth to a third child, and the baby was sheltered as a result of the mother’s ongoing substance abuse. At the initial FTC, the mother relayed that she’d made several previous unsuccessful attempts at substance abuse treatment; she truly had the desire to be drug-free, but never had a plan of action and didn’t know who she could turn to for support. At the FTC, conversation focused not only on local treatment providers, but also about building a strong support system for the family, the importance of establishing a relapse plan, and the need for ongoing after-care upon completion of a treatment program.
At the follow-up FTC, the mother proudly announced that she had been drug-free for 8 months. Additionally, she was able to share that she’d utilized the resources discussed in the FTC to acquire stable housing, part-time employment, and was planning on returning to school. More than anything else, the mother was excited to celebrate having recently been granted unsupervised visitation with her child, and that those visits were going so well all parties anticipated that the family would be reunified at the next court hearing.
When asked, the mother noted that the clear outline of a plan of action, the development of a strong support system established at the beginning of the case, and an overall tone of helping, teamwork, positive affirmations and celebrations of success, as being essential components that were instrumental to her overall success. These interactions, she said, were in stark contrast to her previous involvements with the dependency system, during which she felt blamed, chastised, and looked down upon.
Extended Family Help Parents Succeed
Submitted by Rhonda Abercrombie, FTC Facilitator
Empowering families to actively engage with the agency, in a team effort, to develop attainable goals that will best meet the family’s urgent needs to ensure child safety --- The primary goal of Family Team Conferencing (FTC).
An excellent example of the effectiveness of this process involves one of many families that embraced the FTC process and led the agency in the development of a family centered plan that addressed all identified needs.
This particular family was randomly selected to participate in the FTC model known as pathway 3, which included “family alone time”. For this initial conference, the parents were accompanied by nine positive and supportive family members to take part in brainstorming ways to address each need and to play a role in helping the family to reach their goals. Also present were the Family Care Counselor and the Family Team Conference Facilitator. The conference was held in a private meeting room located at a public library and the conference was in session for approximately 2 ½ hours.
To give a little background information, the Department of Children and Families became involved with this family in order to protect the children from severe hazards associated with unsanitary living conditions. During the FTC, the parents shared with all participants their understanding of why the agency was involved and they expressed that they agreed with the agency’s concerns and the need for the court to shelter the children with a relative until they were able to provide and maintain a safer living environment for their children.
After establishing ground rules for the conference and the parents sharing their meeting goals and their story, the team took time to recognize the parent’s strengths as well as the family’s strengths that would drive them to successfully reach their goal of reunification. Both parents expressed that they love their children and that they were committed to developing and working a Family Plan to become better parents. The Family Care Counselor recognized that the parents were very cooperative with the agency, forthcoming about personal needs and they were willing to accept help. It was also recognized that worked well together as a team and that there were strong family supports on the maternal and paternal side of the family. The family members added that the children have a very close bond with both parents and that the parents are very nurturing and affectionate toward the children. The parent’s determination and positive outlook were also recognized as strengths.
As the conference progressed to the identification of the family’s needs, the parents and the Family Care Counselor were in agreement with the need to clean and organize the home to eliminate all hazards and to also address any personal concerns that contributed to the circumstances. Prior to “family alone time” the Facilitator instructed the family to make a list of identified needs and a plan of action to work toward ensuring the children’s safety. The Facilitator explained that after “alone time” the Facilitator and Family Care Counselor would discuss their plan, agency recommendations and court ordered task in order to consolidate all plans into one.
The Family Care Counselor and Facilitator stepped out of the conference room for “family alone time” to commence. The family met for approximately 30 minutes and then requested that the FCC and Facilitator rejoin their conference. Upon returning, the parents advised that during their “alone time” they appointed one family member as the facilitator and another as the note taker to maintain order and they also determined who would do what, when and where so that everyone would remember what they agreed to be responsible for.
The family’s plan indicated that one family member would assist with the cost of professional carpet cleaning and purchase a vacuum cleaner within two days. Another family member agreed to find new homes for the family’s pets to prevent further carpet soiling and pet odor. One family member agreed to repair the parent’s clothes dryer and clean the walls in the home and one family member agreed to visit the parents twice a week to observe that the home remained clean. All of the family members noted that they would continue to assist with cleaning the home that week until the conditions were improved and safe. In addition to the family’s contributions to the plan, the Family Plan also included services that were recommended by the Family Care Counselor and the court (mental health assessments, employment, parenting education and visitation). The parents agreed to engage in all services recommended and were eager to begin the steps. Both parents expressed that they felt confident about successfully reaching their goals, given all of the support and love that they felt they had.
As the FTC concluded, the family members all expressed positive comments about the process. It was expressed that the conference was very effective. The parents disclosed that they were nervous when they arrived, but as the process began they felt a lot of support from everyone involved.
