ABSTRACT
The development, refinement, evaluation, and dissemination of the Teaching-Family Model of residential treatment for children and adoles cents with severe behavior problems has been in process since 1967. The model was developed as a community-based mental health interven tion, in collaboration with the University of Kansas, to provide a humane and effective alternative to institutionalization. The Teaching-Family Model began as a set of behavioral treatments for correcting problem behaviors that involved teaching appropriate social, academic and selfcare skills to from four to eight children who resided with a married couple (the teaching-parents) in a family-style group home setting. From the beginning, the program design was carefully explicated so it could be replicated in other communities. Over time, the model evolved to include a complete and integrated service delivery system, consisting of teaching-parent recruitment; a performance-based training protocol for the teaching-parents who implement the treatment procedures; a system of ongoing consultation and staff support; and systematic feedback procedures to ensure that the model treatment procedures are being reproduced with fidelity.
