New York Parenting Programs
Strengthening Families
Strengthening Families is a parent, youth and family skills-building curriculum designed to prevent teen substance abuse and other behavior problems, strengthen parenting skills, and build family strengths developed by professionals at Iowa State University Extension http://www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp/index.php. The program is delivered in 7 two hour sessions where parents and youth meet separately for the first hour and then the families practice skills and have fun together during the second hour. Sessions are highly interactive and include role-playing, discussions, learning games, and family projects. Each session contains a variety of activities.
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Parent sessions include viewing and discussing videotapes which portray negative and positive interactions with youth, skill-building activities and group support.
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Youth sessions include game-like learning activities, discussions and skill-building activities.
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Family sessions include parent-youth discussions, games, projects, skill-building practice and videotape viewing.
The Strengthening Families is unique in that it is a workshop in which parents and youth learn together, and the curriculum is designed and used with ethnically diverse families in rural and urban settings.
A full list of NYS contacts by County is available as a .pdf file.
Evaluation Resources
All of the counties delivering the Strengthening Families program follow a specific evaluation protocol (.pdf file) to ensure fidelity of the data collected; and to allow us to report the statewide impact the program has on families in New York State. Demographic information is collected from each adult participant to allow for analysis of program effect based on family characteristics using a participant survey (pdf file).
The evaluation of the Strengthening Families Program relies on a pre and post test survey completed by parents and youth who participate in the program (links to the instruments are provided below). Note also that all educators who administer the evaluation surveys have complied with the necessary human subjects requirements by collecting informed consent (pdf file) from each parent/caregiver who participates..
For more information on human subjects standards,
go to http://www.osp.cornell.edu/Compliance/UCHS/homepageUCHS.htm
Forms You Will Need
Before you begin
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet template for participant attendance and assignment of family identification numbers (excel file).
Strengthening Families evaluation protocol (.pdf file)
Session 1
Parent/Caregiver PRE test instrument (.pdf file)
Youth Participant PRE test instrument (.pdf file)
Session 7
Parent/Caregiver POST test instrument (.pdf file)
Youth Participant POST test instrument (.pdf file)
Strengthening Families Certificate of Completion (Microsoft Word)
Strengthening Families Certificate of Participation (Microsoft Word)
Other resources for Educator Use:
Lee Molgaard, Director of Training, Strengthening Families Program Presentation made in Ithaca, New York: September 2006. (Powerpoint slides)