Background

Community behavioral health agencies and providers serving children across Arizona follow the Arizona Practice Model which states, “In collaboration with the child and family and others, Arizona will provide accessible behavioral health services designed to aid children to achieve success in school, live with their families, avoid delinquency, and become stable and productive adults. Services will be tailored to the child and family and provided in the most appropriate setting, in a timely fashion and in accordance with best practices, while respecting the child’s and family’s cultural heritage.”   At the core of the Arizona Practice Model are the 12 Arizona Principles.

The 12 Arizona Principles serve as the foundation for providing behavioral health services and are universally applied when working with children and their families through the use of Child and Family Team (CFT) practice.

The Child and Family Team (CFT) is a defined group of people that includes, at a minimum, the child and his/her family, a behavioral health representative, and any individuals important in the child’s life and who are identified and invited to participate by the child and family. This may include, for example, physical health provider, teachers, extended family members, friends, family support partners, healthcare providers, coaches, community resource providers, and representatives from churches, synagogues or mosques, agents from other service systems such as the Arizona Department of Child Safety (ADCS) or the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) etc. The size, scope and intensity of involvement of the team members are determined by the objectives established for the child, the needs of the family in providing for the child, and what individuals are needed to develop an effective service plan and can therefore expand and contract as necessary to be successful on behalf of the child.

Touchstone’s programs/services are built around the 12 Arizona Principles and the CFT process is fully integrated into the services we provide.