Teaching-Family Association

What Teaching-Family Association does

Teaching-Family Association (TFA) is a US-based nonprofit membership and accreditation organization that governs the Teaching-Family Model (TFM), an evidence-based, trauma-informed cognitive-behavioral treatment approach originally developed in 1967 at the University of Kansas's Achievement Place research project. TFA accredits human-services agencies that implement TFM across a continuum of settings including group homes, treatment foster care, in-home family services, charter and special education schools, psychiatric residential treatment, developmental disability programs, and emergency or transitional housing. Its technical foundation is the Integrated Systems Framework, comprising four interlocking components: Training, Consultation/Coaching/Supervision, Evaluation/Quality Assurance, and Facilitative Leadership, which together enforce practitioner- and organizational-level model fidelity.

TFA monetizes through three primary streams: tiered agency membership fees (Accredited, Developing, Supportive, Individual), recurring accreditation fees (initial application, triennial onsite reviews, and annual reports), and conference and training fees from the annual Fall conference and mid-year events. Distribution is sales-led and direct: agencies enter an 18-30 month development period with a mentor agency, apply for accreditation, and progress through a four-tier membership structure. The network spans five countries (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Albania) and includes 27 accredited agencies, 9 developing agencies, and 792+ cumulative international replications. TFA is the federally approved accreditor under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) and holds a registered trademark on the Teaching-Family Model, making it the sole gatekeeper for legitimate TFM implementation. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors; current Executive Director is Michele Boguslofski, who succeeded Peggy McElgunn in August 2018.

Name

Teaching-Family Association

Legal name

Teaching-Family Association

Website

https://teaching-family.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Teaching-Family Association is a US nonprofit that accredits and supports human-services agencies implementing the Teaching-Family Model, an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment approach for child welfare, foster care, and behavioral health providers across five countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Anderson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Agency Membership Fees: TFA generates revenue through membership fees from agencies at four levels: Accredited membership (highest level, must be earned through accreditation process), Developing agency membership, Supportive agencies, and Individual memberships.
2. Accreditation Fees: Agencies pay fees for the accreditation process including initial applications, onsite reviews, annual reports, and triennial applications and reviews for ongoing accreditation maintenance.
3. Conference and Training Fees: Annual Conference each Fall with workshops and speakers; Mid-Year Events; Training Sessions taught by Teaching-Family professionals bringing continuing educational opportunities directly to agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Teaching-Family Association (TFA) implements and accredits the Teaching-Family Model (TFM), an evidence-based, trauma-informed cognitive-behavioral approach to care. TFA accredits agencies delivering TFM-based services, offers tiered membership programs (Accredited, Developing, Supportive, Individual), and hosts annual conferences and mid-year events for member professional development. The organization operates as a nonprofit membership association headquartered in Anderson, South Carolina.

Product overview

The Teaching-Family Association offers a unified system centered on the Teaching-Family Model (TFM), an evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment approach. The core product is the TFM methodology itself, which operates through a network of accredited member agencies across multiple service delivery applications including family homes, treatment foster care, home-based treatment, school-based programs, mental health services, and developmental disability programs. TFA provides accreditation services to ensure fidelity to the model, manages membership programs at four levels (Accredited, Developing, Supportive, and Individual), hosts annual conferences and mid-year events for professional development, and maintains research resources. The organization does not offer a software technology product but rather provides accreditation, training standards, and organizational support for human services agencies implementing the TFM approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Teaching-Family Model (TFM) An evidence-based, trauma-informed cognitive-behavioral approach to care and treatment that prioritizes therapeutic relationships with caregivers in supportive family-style settings. It is designed to reduce problem behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors among children, youth, and adults across various diagnoses.
• TFA Accreditation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Net societal benefit of $26,009 per participant (WSIPP cost-benefit analysis, 2015)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Institutes for Mental Health (NIMH)foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1967NIMH provided major grants in the late 1960s to fund research conducted by pioneers of behavioral psychology with the Achievement Place Research Project at the University of Kansas. This research defined and refined the residential treatment model known today as the Teaching-Family Model. For 20 of the 50+ years of research, dissemination-implementation research was funded by NIMH.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• National Association of Social Workers (NASW): NASW is a large professional membership association for social workers. While not a direct accreditation body, it competes for the same individual practitioners and offers overlapping continuing education, training, and credentials.

Emerging players

• National Council for Mental Wellbeing: A membership and advocacy organization for behavioral health providers, many of whom also pursue TFA accreditation. It competes for the same agencies' attention, training dollars, and policy influence in the mental health and child welfare space.
• Alliance for Strong Families and Communities: A national network of family-serving community-based nonprofits, many of which provide child welfare, behavioral health, and community living services. It competes with TFA for the same community-based human services agencies.

Broad incumbents

• Joint Commission: The Joint Commission is the dominant healthcare accreditation body in the US, including behavioral health and human services programs. While much larger and broader in scope, it overlaps with TFA in accrediting psychiatric residential treatment facilities and behavioral health providers.

Direct peers

• Council on Accreditation (COA): COA is one of the largest national accrediting bodies for human and social services, including child welfare, behavioral health, and community-based agencies. It competes most directly with TFA for the same set of nonprofit service providers seeking evidence-based accreditation.
• CARF International: CARF accredits a wide range of human services, including child and youth services, behavioral health, and foster care. It is a direct competitor to TFA in accrediting agencies that serve overlapping populations, particularly in residential and community-based settings.
• Child Welfare League of America (CWLA): CWLA is a national membership association of child welfare agencies with a long-standing standards and accreditation program. It addresses many of the same agencies and use cases as TFA, particularly in private residential treatment, group care, and foster care.

Regional players

• American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR): ANCOR represents providers serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). TFA's developmental disability services segment overlaps directly with ANCOR's member base, making it a partial peer for that vertical.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/teachingfamilyassociation
• Instagraminstagram.com/teachingfamilyassociation
• Pinterestpinterest.com/TeachingFamilyAssociation
• Xx.com/teachingfamily
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-teaching-family-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Teaching-Family Association