TEACHING FAMILY MODEL

Adriel is a Certified Teaching Family Association Sponsor Agency

Adriel utilizes the Teaching Family system of care and treatment throughout its programs of foster care and residential treatment. The Teaching Family Model was developed at the University of Kansas in the late 1960’s. Adriel began using this high-quality approach to working with children and their families in 1983. Today, Adriel is a nationally certified Teaching Family sponsor site with the ability to not only use the model in our own programs, but to also teach the model to other agencies which have the desire to learn about Teaching Family.

The goals of the Teaching Family model are to provide humane, effective and individualized services for children and their families. The services must be satisfactory to the clients and consumers. The Teaching Family Model is a cost efficient and reputable system of care and treatment.


The Teaching Family Model of care and treatment has a number of elements that distinguish it as a unique system.

1. A positive teaching interaction style helps individuals solve their problems by learning appropriate alternative skills. Interaction with children and their families are positive and proactive. All interactions begin with a positive empathetic statement. Interactions include specific behavior descriptions, explanations about how the behavior helps or hinders the individual, examination of alternatives, engagement of the individual in the interaction, administration of consequences and praise for all appropriate behaviors.

2. Children and their families are taught self-determination skills. These skills emphasize the individual’s acquisition of rational problem-solving and self-control skills. They also encourage the appropriate experience of emotion from situation to situation.

3. Relationship development with children and their families is the key to successful care and treatment. Individuals are engaged in caring, supportive relationships with agency staff, which creates an environment of trust with and advocacy for the children and their families.

4. A behavior management or motivation system encourages and supports children as they learn appropriate alternative skills. All behavior management systems are positive, flexible and individualized. The behavior management system is tuned to the needs of each child he/she progresses through the system. The elements of the Teaching Family Model of care and treatment are supported by three service delivery systems.

First, all direct care providers and practitioners (teaching parents and foster parents) are carefully selected based on their ability to provide individualized care and treatment in a positive, affirming manner. New practitioners experience an intensive pre-service, skills-based training. This training is followed by continuing opportunities to build and fine-tune skills through on the job coaching and workshop/training seminars.


Secondly, consultant-supervisors pair emotional support with direct observation and feedback of program implementation, care and treatment planning. This feedback helps this practitioner grow professionally and develop their skills.

 Thirdly, trained staff regularly observes and rate the skills of each teaching parent or foster parent. Opinions of parents, youth, and others working with the family are solicited to determine their thoughts about the process and benefits of the care and treatment. This information is reported to the teaching parents and foster parents to facilitate their learning and skills development.