The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) is a family skills training program designed to increase resilience and reduce risk factors for behavioral, emotional, academic, and social problems in children 3-16 years old. The Strengthening Families Program is specifically designed for high-risk families. SFP comprises three life-skills courses delivered in 14 weekly, 2-hour sessions. Parents and children participate in SFP, both separately and together. The Parenting Skills sessions are designed to help parents learn to increase desired behaviors in children by using attention and rewards, clear communication, effective discipline, substance use education, problem solving, and limit setting. The Children's Life Skills sessions are designed to help children learn effective communication, understand their feelings, improve social and problem-solving skills, resist peer pressure, understand the consequences of substance use, and comply with parental rules. In the Family Life Skills sessions, families engage in structured family activities, practice therapeutic child play, conduct family meetings, learn communication skills, practice effective discipline, reinforce positive behaviors in each other, and plan family activities together. Participation in ongoing family support groups and booster sessions is encouraged to increase generalization and the use of skills learned. The Strengthening Families Program was initially developed by researchers at the University of Utah.
To request a training at your organization and/or facility, please contact NJPC at
973-989-8866 or email
info@njparentcaucus.org.
