The Functional Family Therapy Model in Foster Care

The Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion host­ed a webi­nar, Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py in Fos­ter Care, on Feb. 25, 2026. Atten­dees learned about the Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py mod­el and its use in fos­ter care, which is linked to bet­ter out­comes for chil­dren and youth and increased sat­is­fac­tion for fos­ter parents. 

This webi­nar, part of the Foundation’s Lead­ing With Evi­dence series, seeks to pro­mote effec­tive and equi­table evi­dence-based approach­es in a vari­ety of settings.

Why This Webi­nar Is Important

Fos­ter care is a tem­po­rary liv­ing sit­u­a­tion for chil­dren whose par­ents can­not take care of them. The U.S. fos­ter sys­tem, which served more than 360,000 kids in 2023, pro­vides imme­di­ate safe­ty, care and sup­port for chil­dren and youth who have been removed from their homes. 

The Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py mod­el is asso­ci­at­ed with increased place­ment sta­bil­i­ty and safe envi­ron­ments for chil­dren and fos­ter fam­i­lies, research sug­gests. It can also lead to cost sav­ings for sys­tem leaders.

Pan­elists included:

• Mod­er­a­tor Cyn­thia Weaver, a senior asso­ciate with the Casey Foundation’s Evi­dence-Based Prac­tice Group;
• Tom Sex­ton, a lead­ing expert in Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py and CEO of Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py Part­ners, which is a train­ing and resource orga­ni­za­tion ded­i­cat­ed to imple­ment­ing the Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py model;
• Mar­ta Ander­son, the chief oper­at­ing offi­cer and senior clin­i­cal con­sul­tant for Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py Part­ners; and
• Elis­a­beth Can­na­ta, the vice pres­i­dent of com­mu­ni­ty-based fam­i­ly ser­vices and prac­tice inno­va­tion at Wheel­er Health in Connecticut.

They explored efforts in Con­necti­cut and Flori­da, where the imple­men­ta­tion of the Func­tion­al Fam­i­ly Ther­a­py mod­el has led to report­ed gains for both fos­ter par­ents and kids in care.

View the Lead­ing With Evi­dence webi­nar series