The Oklahoma Model Standards Study (OKMSS) is a comprehensive, multi-method evaluation of Family Treatment Courts (FTCs) designed to assess their effectiveness, cost implications, and implementation fidelity, while advancing tools and methods to strengthen the evidence base for this specialized court model. Drawing on linked administrative data from child welfare, substance use treatment, and court systems, as well as original survey and implementation data, the study addresses long-standing methodological limitations in previous FTC research and provides insights for policy and practice. The report synthesizes findings from seven coordinated sub-studies conducted between 2018 and 2024 across multiple counties in Oklahoma.
Sub-Studies 1 and 2 examine FTC effectiveness in promoting family reunification, with particular attention to mechanisms and heterogeneity of effects. Using inverse probability weighting to reduce selection bias, Sub-Study 1 finds that FTC participation is associated with a 66% increase in the likelihood of reunification compared to traditional deprived courts, independent of substance use treatment completion. Although treatment completion is itself a strong predictor of reunification, it does not mediate the relationship between FTC participation and reunification, suggesting that FTCs exert an independent treatment effect through additional pathways such as wraparound services and sustained engagement consistent with harm reduction principles. Sub-Study 2 extends these findings by demonstrating that FTC benefits are evident across all levels of addiction severity, with the strongest effects among caregivers with moderate to high severity substance use. These results support the use of validated severity assessments to guide FTC screening and prioritization when program capacity is limited.
Sub-Study 3 evaluates the fiscal implications of FTCs through a cost analysis focused on foster care utilization. FTC participants achieved reunification an average of 164 days sooner, yielding nearly 30,000 foster care days saved over the study period. Using a very conservative cost estimate approach, direct foster care savings did not fully offset FTC implementation costs. However, the net cost was modest (approximately $301 per child), indicating that FTCs are a fiscally responsible strategy even before accounting for broader cross-system benefits such as improved caregiver recovery, reduced recidivism, and downstream health and social service savings.
Sub-Studies 4 and 5 focus on implementation measurement and fidelity. Sub-Study 4 describes the development and pilot testing of the Model Standards Implementation Scale (MSIS), the first validated instrument designed to assess alignment with 67 FTC Best Practice provisions across eight standards. The MSIS demonstrated good inter-rater reliability, acceptable internal consistency, and evidence of validity. Sub-Study 5 identifies specific FTC practices most strongly associated with reunification, including evidence-based and manualized treatment, trauma-specific services, recovery supports, valid screening and assessment protocols, and structured drug testing protocols. These findings underscore the importance of prioritizing high-impact practices and embedding implementation measurement into routine court oversight.
Sub-Studies 6 and 7 incorporate stakeholder perspectives. Sub-Study 6 presents exploratory survey findings from caregivers early in their maltreatment cases, suggesting potential differences between FTC and non-FTC participants in readiness for change and trauma symptom severity, warranting further investigation with larger samples. Sub-Study 7 examines cross-system collaboration and finds that perceived collaborative capacity is significantly associated with implementation success, though not always in the expected direction, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of interagency partnerships as programs mature.
Together, OKMSS provides robust evidence that FTCs improve reunification outcomes, particularly for families with higher levels of need, while offering validated tools and clear policy recommendations to strengthen implementation, effectiveness, and sustainability.
(Author abstract provided.)
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