The Strengthening Families Program

1
The Strengthening Families Program

• The Charlottesville/Albemarle Prevention
  Coalition
• Region Ten Community Services Board

2
Program Structure

• The Strengthening Families Program is a 14-week
  family skills training program
• It Is Different than parent education, or
  childrens social skills training in that
  children and parents are intensively trained
  together.

3
Curriculum contains three courses Parents
Skills Training Childrens Skills
Training Family Life Skills Training
4

• Program Night
• Starts with half an hour of dinner and
  socializing.
• Each session is 2 hours in length.
• 1st Hour Children and Parents participate in
  separate classes, led by 1-2 trained bachelors or
  masters level facilitators.
• 2nd Hour Children and parents participate in
  Family Skills Training Session TOGETHER, led by
  2-3 facilitators.

5

• Strengthening Family Program Incentives
• Program is Free of Charge
• Dinner provided
• Transportation provided if necessary
• Drawings for gift-certificates for parents each
  session
• Regular social rewards for children earned
  rewards at set session intervals
• Incentives for attendance.
• Graduation celebration to celebrate with other
  family and friends.

6
Together Families

• Engage in therapeutic child play
• Practice communication skills
• Practice structured family activities
• Learn to hold Family Meetings
• Practice effective limit-setting
• Plan family activities

7
Benefits Extended by

• Weekly telephone coaching contacts with
  participant parents by program facilitators.
• Formal booster session on family skills 3-months
  after program completion.
• Support and camaraderie between parent
  participants and positive social interactions
  between child participants.

8
Local Outcomes
INCREASED parental reports of overall
improvements in their childs social skills.
DECREASED parental reports of childrens problem
behavior.

• DECREASED
• parental distress
• Parental perception of child as a difficult child
• total parenting stress

9
Strengthening Families Program Recognitions

• Model Program
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
  Administration, U.S. Department of Health and
  Human Services
• Programs That Work
• National Institute on Drug Abuse, National
  Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services
• Promising Program
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
  Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice
• Exemplary Program U.S. Department of Education