Research and analysis
The care placements evaluation (CaPE)
Presents findings from an evaluation of the effectiveness of multidimensional treatment foster care for adolescents.
Documents
Details
The aim of this evaluation was to compare outcomes for two groups of young people with complex needs aged 10 to 16 years:
- those who enter treatment foster care placements within the multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) model
- those in the other types of care placement usually available to this group of young people, including both foster and residential care
The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess outcomes for the children, who were assessed one year after they entered their MTFC placement or, for most of those in the control group, one year after entry to a new alternative placement in residential or foster care. The primary outcome of interest was general adaptive functioning, but a number of secondary outcomes were also assessed, including behaviour, mental health, placement at follow-up and participation in education.