Family-Driven Youth-Guided Practices in Residential Treatment: Findings from a National Survey of Residential Treatment Facilities

Family-driven, youth-guided practices have shaped the development of community-based mental health services for children and youth; however, the extent to which residential treatment providers have adopted these practices is unclear. This study reports the findings from a survey of 293 residential treatment providers conducted to examine the adoption of family-driven, youth-guided care. Residential treatment providers reported several practices consistent with family-driven, youth-guided care, including strength-based individualized treatment planning, collaboration with community-based providers to develop treatment plans, and the provision of various forms of support to families. Thirty percent of providers reported that the youth or family member was the primary decision maker in the development of treatment plans, 20.9% included youth or family members in program oversight, and 88.0% reported that staff had not heard of family-driven, youth-guided principles or required further training to implement them.