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Effective: 6/11/2026

G1.8 Family Team Meetings (FTM)

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​A family team meeting (FTM) is an engagement tool that helps a family achieve safety, permanency, well-being, and sustainable changes. The FTM includes family members, their informal support system, service providers, community representatives, SSW, FSOS, and possibly other agency staff. It offers collaborative, meaningful, and enduring child protective planning. The family team serves as a decision-making group. They build a shared understanding of different viewpoints and how each fits into the overall support network. They seek consensus on direction. The family has the right to invite individuals who support them and should be advised to do so. Meeting participants may change over time as the family's needs change. 

Practice Guidance

  • The members of the family team convene to operate as a collaborative decision-making and planning group, seeking to build a shared understanding of differing points of view and how each fits into the total network of support, and gain consensus on direction. The family has the right​ to invite individuals who support them, and they should be advised to do so. Participants in the meetings may change over time as the family's needs change. ​
  • FTMs may also be helpful in the following circumstances:
    • ​When a placement change is needed or planned, especially if related to the child’s behavioral health needs;
    • At the ninety (90) calendar day mark for in-home services cases to address:
      • Progress on case plan goals and tasks;
      • How services support the family and whether other services may be needed;
      • Barriers to completing tasks or meeting goals;
      • Any changes in family circumstances (e.g., job loss, birth of a child, new household members, etc.); 
      • Any concerns of the SSW or family; and 
      • Whether a modification to the case plan may be needed;
    • When the child is placed with a relative, regardless of whether the relative or DCBS has custody, to address:
      • Adjustment of the child(ren) in the relative’s home and the stability of the placement;
      • Any problems or concerns regarding the transition of services for the children (i.e., medical, mental health, school, etc.);
      • Respite or self-care plan/needs of the relative;
      • Frequency and quality of visitation of the child(ren) with their parents and siblings, (if not placed in the same home);
      • Permanency planning (i.e., upcoming court dates);
      • Status of the absent parent search;
      • Transition plan if reunification is the short-term plan; and
      • Any concerns or issues the relative has.
  • The FSOS's input in FTMs is critical to guide case decisions and support the SSW; therefore, they should be in attendance except for unusual circumstances. There may be situations in which a designee may be requested.
  • ​​Relative exploration should include searching for new relatives and considering previously evaluated relatives, provided the issues preventing placement have been resolved. 
  • When discussing the prospect of reunification, it is important to consider the following:
    • The child’s family of origin is the preferred permanent family for the child whenever possible and safe;
    • Most families can care for their children if appropriate support systems are in place; and
    • Recognize that family involvement and support from friends are strengths. Fictive kin may also offer a potential placement for the child. 
  • Early and consistent contact between the child and family is critical. This helps prepare for a successful and lasting reunification. 
  • Throughout the child’s out-of-home care (OOHC) placement, consistently offer and pursue ways to promote reconnection, to promote reconnection and maintain bonds with the family. 
  • Preparing the child, family, and/or caregiver for reunification is important when implementing a reunification plan. 
  • It is not uncommon for children and caregivers to experience feelings of ambivalence, apprehension, anxiety, and grief, but these natural responses should not negatively impact the decision to return home.  


Procedure

​FTMs are held: 
  • Ninety (90) calendar days after a child enters OOHC;
  • Within thirty (30) calendar days of reunification; and 
  • At other critical junctures, as requested by the family or the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS). 

​The SSW: ​​
  1. Documents in the case plan and service recordings:
    1. Efforts to assist the family in identifying relatives to attend the FTM;
    2. Efforts to assist the family in identifying internal DCBS partners to attend the FTM, to include:
      1. Division of Family Support;
      2. Division of Child Support; and
      3. Division of Child Care.
    3. Efforts to assist the family in identifying community partners to attend the FTM, including:
      1. Formal partners such as:
        1. Mental health counselors;
        2. Medical health professionals;
        3. Legal representatives;
        4. Court personnel;
        5. Teachers/school community;
        6. Early care and education providers (e.g., child care, Head Start)
        7. Early intervention providers (e.g., Kentucky Early Intervention System (KEIS), Help Me Grow)
        8. Home visiting providers (e.g., HANDS, Parents as Teachers)
        9. Family resource and youth services centers (FRYSCs); and
        10. Care providers (e.g., DCBS foster parents, private child placing (PCP) foster parents, relative or fictive kin caregivers, and private child caring (PCC) staff.  
      2. Informal partners such as:
        1. Friends,
        2. Neighbors, and
        3. Faith-based community partners, etc.
  2. Documents in the service recordings how the partnership is carried out in case planning and service delivery; 
  3. Explores the family’s vision for the child and the family's well-being, a safe future, which may be included in the case plan;
  4. Documents in the service recordings when the family declines community partner involvement, to include:
    1. Why the family refuses assistance/involvement from community partners in case planning, including the SSW’s efforts to promote acceptance of community partner involvement; and
    2. The joint identity of potential community partners, which could make a significant contribution to the family.
  5. Along with the family, form a team including identified fathers that will:
    1. Assist in developing an individualized family plan, based on the initial assessment;
    2. Implement the objectives and tasks included in the plan; and
    3. Continue to assess the family’s strengths and needs, and revise the plan accordingly until the aftercare plan is written and the case is closed;
  6. Along with the FSOS and family, considers modification to the case plan at the ninety (90) calendar day FTM to reflect progress, or lack of progress, toward their case plan goals and objectives;
    1. If the case plan is modified at the ninety (90) calendar-day FTM for an OOHC case, an updated copy is provided to the family, and a copy of the child/youth action plan (OOHC cases only) is provided to the foster parents or relative/fictive kin caregivers.
​
The Service Region Administrator (SRA) or designee:
  1. Approves any exception to a required FTM; and
  2. Documents the exception in the case plan and service recordings.

OOHC Ninety (90) Calendar Day FTM

The SSW:
  1. Utilizes procedures for​​ general FTMs in addition to the steps below: 
    1. Assesses progress made on the case plan tasks and objectives;
    2. Explores and evaluates all possible relatives as placements;
    3. Evaluates the appropriateness of the child's current placement based on the circumstances of the case; and
    4. If aggravated circumstances are present at the time the child enters OOHC, the SSW follows SOP C7.16 Preparation for and completion of the Ten (10) Day Conference, to assess for the appropriateness of concurrent planning. For FTMs held later in the case, the SSW should refer to C7.17 Ongoing Case Planning ​for any concurrent planning steps.

The FSOS
  1. Attends the meeting. If they are unable to attend, they will provide the SSW with guidance and support on the specific case prior to the FTM;
  2. Assures all relatives have been explored using the DPP-1275 Relative Exploration Form; and
  3. Facilitates if a facilitator is not available.

Reunification FTM

The SSW:
  1. Utilizes procedures for general FTMs in addition to the steps below: 
    1. Invites all partners involved with the family, including identified fathers as outlined in C7.13 Family Attachment and Involvement, and other supports to the FTM or obtains written documentation of the progress or lack of progress on the case plan tasks and objectives;
    2. Ensures appropriate services to the parents that will constitute reasonable efforts toward reunification are documented in service recordings;
    3. Follows procedures in SOP C1.16 Family Preservation and Reunification Services Program (FPRS) for the referral process to secure reunification services; and
    4. Documents in service recordings:
      1. A brief summary of the safety assessment; and
      2. The roles and responsibilities of each partner for ongoing service delivery. 

The FSOS:

  1. Assures that he SSW invites all appropriate parties to the FTM;
  2. Attends the meeting. If they are unable to attend, they will provide the SSW with guidance and support on the specific case prior to the FTM; 
  3. Facilitates if a facilitator is not available; 
  4. Assists the SSW in the completion of a safety assessment or the Family Reunification Assessment Tool (when utilized) with the family before the ninety (90) calendar day FTM, and a six (6) month case plan;
  5. Assists the SSW in interpreting safety threats related to reunification.​

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Documents

Revisions

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