Evidence-supported interventions for children in care: Does Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) fit within the UK context?

Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) is one of a number of systemic, therapeutic ‘family focused’ models brought from the USA to Europe in recent decades. This paper looks at a large-scale implementation of TFCO and how its systemic principles sought to positively impact the ‘looked after children's’ sector within the UK. However, following a 15-year government-driven nationwide implementation initiative, only one UK TFCO site remains, despite the efforts of many skilled and dedicated workers striving to sustain it across the country. This paper explores some of the factors that contributed to the rise and fall of TFCO in Britain, outlining implementation challenges and the learning gained through the UK implementation of TFCO.

Practitioner points

• Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) is a coherent programme for children and young people who display pronounced, anti-social behaviour
• When an alternative family-based placement is required—and where a return home is feasible—TFCO might be an intervention to consider
• The USA and UK are very different contexts, which makes the transportability of evidence-based programmes challenging
• The USA and UK are very different contexts, which makes the transportability of evidence-based programmes challenging