Multisystemic Therapy

MST has been acclaimed as one of the most effective forms of intervention for high risk delinquent youth by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Office of the Surgeon General. It focuses intensive family-based treatment on youth who have shown chronic or violent delinquent behavior such as fighting and vandalism, drug and alcohol use, criminal activity, running away, serious disobedience and disrespect, and truancy/academic problems.

Parents or guardians as well as the child are integral players in MST. In fact, a main goal is to teach effective parenting skills at the same time the child is learning to cope with stressful situations and negative influences.

The MST therapist uses all support systems available in the community—family, school, church, neighbors, and other resources—to build and reinforce new capabilities in the parent and child, and to help them change their relationship. Home visits occur daily at first, then taper off to occasional check-ins as conflict decreases. Treatment usually lasts four months, at an average cost of $6,000 per case.

The Fund was the first organization to bring MST to Georgia, and its success rate is running between 70 and 80 percent. Other jurisdictions also are replicating the Fulton County model.

Current funding allows the MST program to serve 26 families a year referred from the Court. Also served are cases referred from the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services and the State Department of Juvenile Justice, for a total of 50 families annually. With adequate funding, MST could quickly increase this total to 100.