SERVICES

Proven & Effective

"Science has established two facts meaningful for human welfare: first, the foundation of the structure of human personality is laid down in early childhood; and second, the chief engineer in charge of this construction is the family." --Meyer Francis Nimkoff
Child & Family Tennessee uses evidence-based practices to ensure that we offer our clients the most effective and efficient services possible. Since 1991, we have been measuring our results, and we use these measurements to make sure we are directing scarce resources for maximum impact with the lowest cost.
Read about our programs here.
What is the need for evidence-based practices?
Here are a few reasons:
Cost-effective treatment--paying for what works most effectively
Directs resources to where they can do the most good
Has a strong logic model to spell out what is working and how to measure
Ensures efforts are systematic and validated
Scientific data complements professional "instincts"
Takes the guess work out of treatment
Some of the evidence-based practices we use:
Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Motivational Enhancement Therapy
Matrix
Centering Parenting
Nurturing Parenting Programs
Empowerment-Based Self-Directed Therapy

Back to the top

Impact

"Good family life is never an accident but always an achievement by those who share it." --James H. S. Bossard
People in need shouldn''t have to figure out a complicated system of resources. So we created "One Resource, No Wrong Door". This is a highly efficient system of internal referrals. All of our programs are interconnected so that if one resource isn''t working, we can refer to another resource.
View "How Programs Relate" chart.
The success of this approach is clear in our outcomes:
60% of women who complete our substance abuse recovery program increase their income.
94% of women living in our supportive living program for mentally ill women avoided costly inpatient mental health care or hospitalization.
92% of fathers who participated in our parenting classes for soon-to-be fathers had more confidence in caring for their newborn baby.
The average length of stay at our runaway shelter is less than three days.
85% of youth that leave our runaway shelter are still living in a safe environment after six months.
Here are some real life success stories and some great things our clients are saying about Child & Family Tennessee...
New Beginnings
"Connie" came in several months ago with outstanding warrants and was arrested within eight hours of coming to us. She returned to New Beginnings after being released. Connie has been in two abusive marriages and, despite having earned a college degree and having a supportive family, turned to methamphetamine addiction and production. Connie has two sons who live with her mother. Thanks to New Beginnings, Connie is now seeing her children regularly and repairing her family relationships.
Transitional Housing Program
"I do not have the words to express my gratitude to you and to everyone else who has been so instrumental in getting my life headed in the right direction. I am still facing many hurdles, but with the support of people who care and my faith in God, I know that I can one day be the strong, successful woman that I was meant to be. THANK YOU!"
Family Counseling
One success story of a family that used our Family Counseling service involves "Joe" and his teenage daughter, "Megan." Joe was doing his best as a single parent, but he and Megan could not figure out how to get along with each other. Most of their conversations would result in the two of them arguing. Megan would refuse to talk about problems or issues with her father and would often run away from home.
Finally, Joe found his way to the Therapy Center. He enrolled in parenting classes, which helped him learn how to practice communicating with his daughter about sensitive matters. Megan has not felt the need to run away from home and she recently enrolled in her school's ROTC program. Joe has been able to tell Megan how proud of her he feels. They are now attending family therapy together to continue to improve their relationship. Joe and Megan are doing well; they are finally working together and actively interested in strengthening their father-daughter relationship.
Home-Based Counseling
Our case worker is great! Really nice and great with our kids. Our kids adore her.
I like my case worker. She [is] very hopeful and she helps me get things done fast.
[The caseworker] has helped in many different areas, from discipline to focus on the good behavior.
Runaway Shelter
"Rick" is a 17 year old young man who came to Child & Family Tennessee's Runaway Shelter through a Safe Place location. Before coming to the shelter, Rick had been part of a family in which he was abused and neglected; at the age of 17 he was kicked out of his home and began living on the streets while still attending high school each day. When Rick entered the shelter, he had no food or money, no safe place to live, no consistent adult support; he had not completed his high school education and had no form of state identification or birth certificate. The Runaway Shelter staff took Rick in, gave him a home, food and emotional support, along with helping to meet his other basic needs. Staff helped Rick through the long process of obtaining his birth certificate, social security card and state identification. It was Rick's goal to receive his GED and enter the military in order to dedicate his life to serving his country. The Runaway Shelter staff assisted Rick in getting enrolled in the GED program and taking the military entrance exams.
Five months later, Rick is now at basic training with the military and he reports, during his calls "home", that he is doing well. Rick still has no connection with his biological family, but now considers the staff who helped him as his family. Rick left some of his possessions behind in the care of the staff and explained that he will return to the shelter that he considers home when he is on leave. Rick now has a stable life, a career and a future in the military. The shy boy who entered the shelter is now a confident and outgoing young man. The life of this youth was impacted greatly by the services he received, however, he also impacted all of the staff members who worked with him as they watched him grow and reach the goals he had set for himself.

Back to the top

Innovation

At Child & Family, we have an impressive track record of successful and timely innovation in emerging programs and services urgently needed by families. A few examples of this include our initiation of the first and only dedicated shelter and service for safety from domestic violence in Knoxville (1978), the area's only runaway prevention and shelter service (1978), unique women-focused treatment for recovery from addiction for both women AND their children (1991), and pioneering specialized and highly skilled interventions to treat the effects of child sexual abuse (1978). More recently, we have developed key partnerships and services to combat methamphetamine and other drug use (2007), aided youth in foster care with finding permanent family connections (2005) and are currently poised to implement a nationally recognized child abuse prevention intervention (2010).
We have always striven to find new and better ways to work effectively with communities to improve the lives of families. Today, our innovation is directed by solid scientific research. This means that we engage in research and development, both in the broadest sense and also in very focused ways. Our Grants Management Unit and our Excellence in Services Department ensure that our efforts are systemic across our organization. We develop "logic models" which clearly state our underlying assumptions about our work and sharply focus our goals and objectives. Our Grants Management Unit uses recognized methods and measures to gauge our successes and challenges. We utilize both our own staff and external evaluators, some of whom are nationally recognized, to test and validate our beliefs and our results, using the latest and most widely accepted scientific approaches. This information is continually fed back into our program operations for maximum benefit and improvement. But we also consider what our findings mean in the broader context of contributing to knowledge of what helps families succeed. We share our learning with our stakeholders, communities and colleagues. Meanwhile, our Excellence in Services Department monitors for consistency and quality.
We continually search for new initiatives, based on the best and most recent available information about what is working. When we see a potential area for development, we first examine whether this is work which fits within our mission. We then do our homework, learning what is currently known about effective ways to approach the issue and what (if any) evidence-based practices have already been tested. As we consider taking action, we seek grants and other funding sources and explore new partnerships, seeking to leverage the necessary resources to their greatest financial and results-oriented advantage. Because of this approach, we have been very successful in securing resources for Tennessee which otherwise would have been deployed elsewhere.
If you are interested in joining with our efforts, please let us know. For information on partnering with Child & Family, as an investor, community partner, volunteer or to share ideas and suggestions, please contact us at 865-524-7483.

Back to the top