Kansas PMTO is an evidence-based parent training program developed over 40 years and proven to help parents strengthen their families. It is also known as Generation PMTO or Parent Management Training-Oregon model. The program is rated as level 1 (well-supported by research evidence) with a high relevance to child welfare on the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.

KVC Kansas is currently the only organization authorized to provide PMTO training in the state and has been the sole provider of PMTO infrastructure (training, coaching and fidelity rating) since 2018. Prior to this, KVC and Saint Francis provided infrastructure support. We have been implementing PMTO since 2011. KVC Kansas also serves on the Kansas PMTO Steering Committee and the international PMTO fidelity rating team, known as FIMP International.

Numerous studies have been conducted demonstrating the effectiveness of PMTO in Kansas (see Akin et al. research studies and Kansas Intensive Permanency Project Team Celebrates Fourth Year).

The goals of Kansas PMTO are:

• Improving parenting practices.
• Reducing family coercion.
• Reducing and preventing internalizing and externalizing behaviors in youth.
• Reducing and preventing substance use and abuse in youth.
• Reducing and preventing delinquency and police arrests in youth.
• Reducing and preventing out-of-home placements in youth.
• Reducing and preventing deviant peer association in youth.
• Increasing academic performance in youth.
• Increasing social competency in youth.
• Increasing peer relations in youth.
• Promoting reunification of families with youth in care.

Summary of Research

Research findings indicate that family reunification rates after foster care were 6.9% higher for the PMTO group (62.7%) than the control/treatment-as-usual (TAU) group (55.8%) with 151 days per typical child. Intervention completion strengthened effects as PMTO completers’ reunification rates (69.5%) were 13.7% higher than the TAU group (55.8%) and were 15.3% higher than non-completers (54.2%). Days saved were also greater for completers as compared to the TAU group (299 days) and non-completers (358 days).

Results suggest that in-home PMTO positively affected reunification as delivered to biological parents of children and youth in foster care with serious emotional and behavioral problems. This study contributes to the literature on evidence-based parenting interventions in real-world foster care settings by showing that positive outcomes may be achieved with biological families. These results are important because most prior research has supported use of parent training with a narrower age range of children, foster parents, or biological parents with custody of their children. Thus, this study extends evidence to biological parents whose children were in foster care as well as to a broad age range of children with mental health needs.

Providing PMTO to families whose children are at risk of entering the foster care system will allow many Kansas children to remain safely at home, without the trauma of being separated from their families.

KVC Kansas has a long history of serving families at risk for involvement with the child welfare system. Through high-quality prevention services, KVC Kansas prevents more than 6,000 children from entering foster care each year and maintains them safely at home. KVC Kansas has a proven history of evidence-based practices and has built the infrastructure to support the capacity required for successful delivery of services. We hope to reach more children and support their caregivers to safely maintain their children at home while learning the skills to help their families thrive.

Parenting Skills Article Series

We published a 12-part article series on the skills taught within Kansas PMTO. See the parenting skills series here.

Learn More

For questions about becoming a PMTO therapist, please contact Joseph Berry, MA, LCP, LMAC at 913-549-2394.

For questions about PMTO services, please contact Melissa Burrow, LMSW at 913-444-2038.