If your teen is in the early stages of receiving mental health support in California, you may have come across something called a Child and Family Team, or CFT. Perhaps a CFT meeting has already been scheduled, or you simply want to understand more about how your teen’s care is planned.
It can be confusing trying to understand the ins and outs of mental health care, so it’s worth taking the time to put everything into context.
This page explains:
A Child and Family Team (CFT) is a group of people who work together to support your teen and plan their care moving forward. It includes your teen and your family, along with the people you trust and the professionals who are helping.
The idea behind it is to bring everyone together into one team with a shared plan, which helps to reduce confusion and miscommunication between services that may not normally talk to each other. A Child and Family Team in California is defined as a group brought together to identify a young person’s strengths and needs and to help them reach positive outcomes.[1]
CFTs are used in California’s child-welfare system and in certain specialty mental health programs. Although the underlying family-centered principles are similar, the process may differ depending on the system and services involved.[2]
Within the mental health system, a Child and Family Team in California may be formed when a teen is dealing with serious emotional or behavioral needs. California offers more intensive Medi-Cal services that are built around a CFT, which include:[3][4]
An important point to remember is that your teen doesn’t need an open child welfare case to have a CFT.[3] These are mental health services for young people with significant needs, and a teen can have a CFT purely through that side of the system.
The CFT process starts when you seek mental health support for your California teen. A CFT is usually established through the service or system supporting your teen rather than through a separate application.
The usual first step for CFT behavioral health support is to call your county’s access line and ask for a mental health referral.[3] A clinician then talks with you and your teen to establish what kind of support fits their situation. If that turns out to be one of the more intensive services, like intensive home-based support or CFT Wraparound, a CFT is built in as part of it.
Of course, making that first call can feel terrifying for some parents, but it’s not something you have to do on your own. Your teen’s doctor or school can make the referral for you, as long as they have permission from you to do so.[3]
Aside from you and your teen, other people can be part of the team depending on your situation. There may be a facilitator who leads any meetings, as well as the professionals supporting your teen, like a therapist or a care coordinator.[5]
You can also bring in people from your own life who care about your teen, known as natural supports. You can help identify the relatives, friends, and other natural supports you would like involved, although legal or program requirements may determine whether certain professionals must also participate. You have a genuine say in who becomes part of the team here, as it’s up to the family who to invite.[5]
If your teen is being considered for a placement into a residential program or a treatment foster home, the mental health representative on the team must be a licensed mental health professional.[1]
Mission Prep is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
A CFT meeting in California is where the team comes together with the purpose of building and reviewing your teen’s plan. This is to make sure that your teen is progressing under the current plan, and that strengths are being built and needs are being met. CFT meetings are guided and informed by the results of the CANS assessment, which identify areas where your teen needs the most support.[5]
If you’ve never been in a CFT meeting before, it’s only natural to feel nervous. Knowing how it works and what to expect takes some of the worry out of it.
First, a trained facilitator opens the meeting and invites members of the team to introduce themselves, mainly by giving their name and their role in your teen’s life.[5]
Before any discussion gets underway, the team agrees on confidentiality and a few ground rules.[5] This could be simple things like one person speaking at a time and treating each other with respect. Remember, these are set together as a team rather than being imposed on everyone.
Then, the discussion takes place, which follows an agenda that covers your family’s story and goals, your teen’s strengths, the worries and needs everyone sees, and then the plan itself. A facilitator will take note of everything discussed in your family’s preferred language.[5]
The meeting then ends with a written action plan that sets out who will do what and by when.[5] Every team member is asked to sign it and state whether they agree or disagree with the plan. If a team member couldn’t make the meeting, someone is assigned to update them afterward and provide them with a copy of the plan.[5]
The number of meetings depends on the support your teen is getting. For example, for more intensive mental health services, meetings happen at least every 90 days, though the team can meet sooner if something needs immediate attention.[6]
It’s also important to understand that CFT meetings also work from your teen’s CANS assessment, which runs on its own, slower timeline. It’s completed at the start of treatment, updated around every six months thereafter, and completed once more at the end of the process.[7] This means that your teen will usually have several CFT meetings between one CANS and the next.
Each time a new CANS assessment is completed, it gives the team an up-to-date idea of your teen’s strengths and needs, and that idea forms the meetings that follow.
A Child and Family Team in California is built on a principle called family voice and choice, which means your perspective is actively sought out and treated as one of the main priorities throughout.[8] After all, you’re a leading part of the team, not someone sitting on the sidelines while decisions get made.
This means that you’re encouraged to help identify your teen’s strengths and needs to help create a plan. You’re also in charge of who comes into the team as a natural support. You can share your thoughts and concerns, raise questions, and request meetings whenever you feel it’s necessary.
If all of this seems a little overwhelming, it’s completely understandable, but a little preparation can help you. For example, before a meeting, you could make a list of your teen’s strengths and your main goals for them. If this isn’t your first CFT meeting, you could make notes on the positive changes you’ve seen in your teen, which can help form the discussion that takes place.
Take a tour of our teen residential mental health facilities located in California. Our locations offer peace & comfort within a residential environment where teenagers, aged 12-17, can relax and focus on themselves.
Our well-appointed facilities are located in Bonsall, Fallbrook, Rancho Palos Verdes
and Rolling Hills Estates.
Additionally, we offer both in-person and virtual outpatient services in California for full support after leaving residential.
Understanding how a CFT works can help your family participate confidently in the planning process. However, if your teen is struggling now, you may also need to know where to find treatment.
Mission Prep Teen Treatment is a teen mental health treatment provider with locations in California and across the country. We work with teens facing many different kinds of mental health conditions, like anxiety and depression, and offer care at the level each teen needs. That might be live-in residential treatment or intensive outpatient programs that feature evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), trauma-focused therapy, and family support.
The same family-first thinking behind a CFT runs through how we work, because you know your teen better than anyone. This means your voice helps guide the support we put into place, and we keep you involved as much as possible as things move forward.
Mission Prep Teen Treatment accepts insurance and is in-network with most major providers. We are happy to help you check your insurance coverage for mental health care.
Learn more about our admissions process online or call 866-901-4047 to speak with a caring member of our team who can answer any questions you might have. Reach out for a free, no-obligation conversation. Our compassionate team is available 24/7.
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