AzAHP Child and Family Team (CFT) Initiatives Notification

Date: 05/31/22

his message is intended to reintroduce the statewide Child and Family Team (CFT) Facilitator Course initiative and the two associated Train-the-Trainer (TtT) courses for Providers serving children and adolescents in our Children’s System of Care (CSOC) and have employees who facilitate CFT’s. If you are not such a Provider, you may disregard this message.

Initiative 1: CFT Facilitators Course

Studies and data consistently demonstrate that children and families who participate in well-facilitated CFT sessions, centered on the family, and anchored in evidence-based support mechanisms such as standardized CFT process, are more likely to achieve long-term success, reduce out-of-home placement, diminish recidivism, and require less cost in services.

It is the responsibility of the Health Plans (Arizona Complete Health-Complete Care Plan, Banner, Care 1st, Health Choice, DCS CHP, Mercy Care, Molina and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan), to ensure delivery of services are in alignment with the Arizona Vision, The Twelve Principles for Children’s Service Delivery (JK Settlement), and AHCCCS Appointment Standards specified in ACOM Policy 417. It is also the responsibility of the Health Plans to ensure that behavioral health providers comply with and use the AHCCCS Behavioral Health Practice Tools, AMPM Chapter 200: Specifically, AMPM 220 Child and Family Team.

To meet these standards and provide consistent best-in-class CFT experiences, the Health Plans, children’s system partners, and AHCCCS have collaborated in designing and developing a statewide CFT Facilitator Course, a standardized CFT Train-the-Trainer (TtT) and CFT Supervisor TtT. All of which will be shared across the Arizona Network of Children and Adolescent Behavioral Health Providers.

The new CFT Facilitator Course is 2 days in length, is intended for in-person delivery, and meets all AHCCCS and Health Plan training requirements for individuals who will be leading and facilitating CFT sessions. Once an agency has an employee who has become a CFT Champion, by successfully completing a TtT session (noted below), the CFT Facilitator course will be required for new staff hired at a provider agency. Employees who already meet the existing CFT Facilitator training requirement need not attend the new course; however, each provider agency may make their own determination otherwise.

It is expected that provider agencies be prepared to train this course in-house, which enablesproviding complimentary agency-specific processes, procedures, and protocols, thus creating a robust learner-centric experience for attendees and future CFT facilitators. The Health Plans will continue to offer the 2 Day CFT Training that is currently being facilitated until Provider CFT Champions have been trained. As of December 31, 2022, all Provider agencies shall cease the utilization of their CFT curriculum and utilize the AHCCCS approved training curriculum (ACOM 220, Section F # 2), which will be made available to the CFT Champion after the complete the CFT TtT.

• Note: To supplement the CFT Facilitator Course sessions that Provider agencies offer in-house to their staff, and to be of particular assistance to small agencies with limited training staff, Health Plans may also have their own individuals trained to deliver the course and offer periodic CFT Facilitator Course sessions.

Initiative 2: CFT Facilitator Train the Trainer (TtT)

The AzAHP Workforce Development (WFD) Alliance and associated Health Plans will collectively offer several TtT sessions starting in June 2022 for the new 2-day CFT Facilitator Course. These sessions are intended for staff who will be delivering the CFT training course in-house in their own agency. These identified staff will be known as “CFT Champions.”

TtT sessions will be approximately 6 hours in length and will be delivered via virtual instructorled training. The TtT sessions will serve as an opportunity to provide a high-level review of the content prepared and help ready local CFT Champions to successfully deliver the CFT course to their staff. Additional preparation and considerations following the TtT session will be required at the agency level, prior to successful implementation. The number of staff who attend the TtT session is left to the discretion and business need of each provider agency. However, when possible, it’s recommended that agencies who can, consider having at least 2 to 3 individuals attend a TtT session. The number is not prescriptive, so no need to request permission on the final number sent.

CFT Champions who participate in a TtT session must be seasoned staff who possess skills equivalent to lead training sessions and must have completed CFT training requirements already in place and certainly be competent in CFT facilitation. It is left to the discretion of each provider agency to verify trainer competency. Presumption will be that participants have been internally vetted as competent by their provider agency prior to enrollment.

Initiative 3: CFT Supervisor Training

The new CFT Supervisor Training Course is approximately 5 hours in length, is intended for in-person delivery, and is for leaders who supervise staff who facilitate CFT’s. The CFT Supervisor Training course will be required for all new and existing leaders at the agency once the agency has a CFT Champion who successfully complete a TtT session. The training will provide guidance related to identified competency measurements.

Initiative 4: CFT Supervisor Facilitator Train the Trainer (TtT)

AzAHP WFD Alliance and the associated Health Plans will collectively offer several TtT sessions starting in September 2022 for the new CFT Supervisor Training. These sessions are intended for staff who will be training the CFT Supervisor Training in-house in their own agency. These identified staff will be the same CFT Champions that took the CFT Facilitator TtT.

TtT sessions will be approximately 2 hours in length and will be delivered via virtual instructor-led training. They will serve as an opportunity to provide a high-level review of the content prepared and help ready local trainers to successfully deliver the CFT Supervisor course to those who supervise CFT facilitators. Additional preparation and considerations following the TtT session will be required at the agency level, prior to successful implementation.

CFT Train the Trainer (TtT) Relias Sessions

An AZAHP- CFT Champion Certification training plan has been created in Relias for the identified CFT Champions meeting the above noted requirements. Agency leadership will need to enroll the identified CFT Champion in the training plan. Within the training plan there are three module requirements: CFT Overview (a self-paced course expected to be completed before attending the TtT session), CFT Facilitator TtT, and CFT Supervisor Facilitator TtT. If the identified CFT Champion has taken CFT Overview in the last two years, they will not have to take it again. The CFT Supervisor TtT sessions will be open for enrollment in Relias starting August 2022. As this is a statewide initiative, the number of initial sessions required has been guesstimated. Your patience is appreciated as we work to meet the scheduling needs of a considerable number of individuals statewide.

Initiative 5: Triannual CFT Collaborative Sessions

In addition to CFT Champions attending a TtT Facilitator Course, delivering CFT Training, and CFT Supervisor Training, CFT Champions are required to attend the CFT Collaborative Sessions triannually. During these sessions CFT Champions will meet with Health Plan Trainers to discuss as a group, and with a subject matter expert panel, best practices, challenges, and opportunities for growth and development regarding CFT administration. These sessions will begin January 2023 and sign up will be available through Relias.

Next Steps

Each provider agency will determine who meets the CFT Champion TtT criteria and have them sign up for a TtT session in Relias, no later than June 2022.

If you have questions about this new process please contact your Health Plan WFD Administrator or email the AZAHP Workforce Development Alliance at workforce@azahp.org