Multi-dimensional treatment foster care

Our new multi-dimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) is a programme to help young people aged 11-16 improve their life chances

Wanted: foster carers for adolescent programme zipwire mtfc

Fostering... but not as you know it!

Suffolk County Council has now launched a new multi-dimensional treatment foster cares (MTFC) programme to help children and young people in care with the most complex behaviour improve their life chances. MTFC will be an alternative to residential care or custody for most children on the programme.

MTFC uses a model of intervention based on Social Learning Theory, which was developed in Oregon, USA and aims to improve the outcomes for looked after children and young people by giving them the skills to return to live with their families or move successfully onto long term stable fostering arrangements.

This new service is being developed in partnership with Norfolk County Council and grant aided by the Department of Education.  We are supported in this programme by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.  

We are seeking to recruit new foster carers to become part of a multi-agency team to provide single placements for children and young people aged 11-16 years for up to 12 months. We are looking for foster carers who can provide a full time care and also those interested in offering respite care on the same programme. 

Foster carers will have the opportunity to work closely with a dedicated team of staff from health, social care and education on a structured programme of intervention that fully supports the child or young person in placement.  Foster carers benefit from 24/7 support, a weekly support group and specialised training in the MTFC approach.

This is a very exciting opportunity to consider fostering some of our most vulnerable looked after children and young people and make a real contribution to the lives.

Further information

  • Please contact the Suffolk County Council Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team on 0800 328 2148.
  • Download the MTFC information leaflet.
  • Find out where you can talk to the team about fostering on our information events page.
  • Follow us on Facebook.