FIT

Projects and Grants

Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration

Family Integrated TransitionsTM (FITTM) Overview


Summary of the Family Integrated TransitionsTM Program


Background of Family Integrated TransitionsTM (FITTM)


In 2000, the Washington State Legislature established a treatment-oriented pilot program to transition juvenile offenders with the co-occurring disorders of mental illness and chemical dependency back into their community.

Because there was no existing model for this population, the specific approach adopted Washington State's Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA), called the Family Integrated TransitionsTM (FITTM) program, was designed and implemented by Eric Trupin, Ph.D., from University of Washington, and David Stewart, Ph.D., from Seattle Pacific Unversity.

To meet the needs of these high risk youth, several evidence-based programs were combined. Those are: Multisystemic Therapy (MST) as the core treatment model, plus:

MST is an empirically validated, cost-effective, and intensive family preservation model of community based treatment that addresses anti-social behavior in juvenile offenders.

DBT skills training, currently underway in JRA residential settings, includes behavioral analysis, self-monitoring, and the practice of specific emotion regulation skills.

MET is used to increase the motivation of youth and family to engage and remain in treatment and to reduce chemical dependency.  Families may be resistant to accepting an intervention that focuses on change at the level of the family system, rather than solely demanding change from the adolescent.  Motivational enhancement of both adolescents and families is therefore viewed as key to creating and sustaining change.

Relapse Prevention/Community Reinforcement is used to increase youth and family awareness of substance use and high-risk situations, increase the repertoire of effective coping strategies, and to establish a plan for resumption of treatment following relapse.


Current FITTM Target Population


FITTM Key Elements


Goals of FITTM


Demonstrated Outcomes of FITTM


Referral Process


FITTM Providers

Each JRA institution and regions 1, 2, and 3 has a designated contact person, typically the Mental Health Coordinator, who helps to coordinate information between the FITTM coaches and other JRA staff.


Current Status


Model Developers

Eric Trupin, Ph.D., formed the Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy of the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in 1983.  The division was initially formed to design and supervise training programs.  Over the years, the division has greatly enlarged its mission to addressing the crisis in mental health care and treatment, particularly among minorities, the poor, and youth incarcerated in county and state jails and detention centers.  Dr. Trupin and his colleagues have been heavily involved in the development of JRA’s movement forward in identifying and providing mental health services for youth, including the FITTM program.  He has done numerous research projects involving JRA youth and other youth in justice systems nationwide.  He is a national expert on juvenile justice, mental health, and co-occurring disorders and involved with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).  He is a strong advocate for the use of evidence based practices in mental health and juvenile justice settings.  Dr. Trupin is influential with Washington State Legislators and testifies regularly on his expert areas. 

David Stewart, Ph.D., now works for the Seattle Pacific University as an Associate Professor of Psychology.  He has done extensive research and practice with adolescents and substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, cultural competence, juvenile justice, evidence based practices, and family and community based interventions.


Downloads FITTM Brochure Past FITTM Training Examples
Downloads
FITTM Brochure   Past FITTM Training Examples
2011 FITTM Implementation Report    

 

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