The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (Secondary), but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

• Types of Maltreatment: Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse
• Target Population: Parents of children (2-12 years old) who are experiencing behavior or emotional problems.

The Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program uses a cognitive-behavioral orientation to train parents in using non-violent child management skills in their relationships with children. Parents are also encouraged to use such skills in relating to spouses and other adults. It was originally developed in the 1970s in child mental health settings and has become the program of choice in many other human service and educational settings since that time. The Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program is the main parenting intervention provided by the staffs of various regional offices of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. It is designed as a ten-session program to be used with small groups of parents. This way each parent can receive individualized consultation from the instructor on the home behavioral change projects that are assigned. A one-day seminar version of the program for large numbers of parents has recently been created.

• Pinpointing and Describing Behavior: Parents are taught how to pinpoint the specific behaviors that they would like to see their children engage in more frequently and those they would like to see less of. This pinpointing involves not only being specific about observable behaviors, but indicating where and when the parent would like to see more or less of them (at bedtime, in the morning, at the dinner table, etc.)
• Behavior-Specific Praise: Behavior-Specific Praise consists of seven behavioral components: (1) looking at the child, (2) moving close to the child, (3) smiling at the child, (4) saying positive things to the child, (5) praising the child's behavior and not the child, (6) being physically affectionate with the child, and (7) moving into action immediately upon recognizing desirable behavior.
• Mild Social Disapproval: Mild Social Disapproval is intended to decrease the repeated misbehaviors of children and establish limits to the child's behaviors. It also consists of seven behavioral components: (1) looking at the child, (2) moving close the child, (3) a disapproving facial expression, (4) a brief verbal comment or command, (5) low intensity, (6) non-verbal gesture consistent with disapproval, and (7) immediate delivery. The verbal component is to be disapproving in content, but not demeaning or threatening. The emphasis is on simple and brief commands such as "Stop that!" rather than "You're a naughty girl" or "If you don't stop doing that, I'm going to get the strap."
• Ignoring: The essence of this ignoring skill is that it be used consistently in response to the behaviors that it seeks to reduce. It consists of five behavioral components: (1) looking away form the child, (2) moving away from the child, (3) neutral facial expression, (4) ignoring the child's verbalizations, and (5) ignoring immediately upon noticing the misbehavior.
• Time Out: Time Out is a form of punishment that is used when all else fails and the child's behavior has exceeded reasonable limits. The child is removed from social interaction and attention. The Time Out is explained to the child as having to go to a "cooling off" place for a short period of time when her/his behavior has gone too far.
• Special Incentive System: This system consists of having the child earn points, stars, or tokens for engaging in specified desirable behaviors. The child turns these in for various tangible rewards and/or special privileges. The rewards or privileges are chosen from a Reward Menu which is negotiated cooperatively by the parent and the child. The components of Special Incentive Programs are: (1) defining desirable behavior, (2) counting the target behavior(s), (3) creating the reward menu, (4) establishing the exchange ratio, i.e., how many stars for what rewards, (5) charting of behaviors, (6) praise for positive behavior changes, (7) program adjustments, and (8) phasing out the program.

Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program was not designed with a child component.

Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Parents with child management problems like disruptiveness, disobedience, restlessness, tantrums, bedwetting, shyness, aggressiveness, laziness, and fears.

Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program was designed to be conducted in a group setting; but has not been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended group size:

10 two-hour sessions format: 8 to 12 parent; One-day seminar format: 50 to 200 parents

Recommended Intensity:

Two-hour basic training sessions per week for entire program; or one-day for abbreviated seminar format.

Recommended Duration:

10 consecutive weeks, with either monthly booster sessions; or the opportunity to take the entire program for a second time.

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Adoptive Home
• Birth Family Home
• Community Agency
• Foster Home
• Hospital
• Outpatient Clinic
• Residential Care Facility
• School

Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program includes a homework component:

Parents complete homework assignments between each training session, including such assignments as counting the child behaviors which they seek to change, applying praise and other such skills three times a day to interaction with the target child, applying and charting the impact of the use of various skills, and creating and using a home special incentive system.

Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• The Parent Handbooks with program and skill descriptions
• an overhead projector and screen
• and space for 8-12 parents with enough room to break into dyads for skill practice.

The program is designed to be led by one instructor who presents the program, demonstrates and models the skills, and provides individual consultations to parents on their home behavior change projects. Practitioners ranging from paraprofessional prevention specialists and parent involvement coordinators to children service workers with B.A. degrees to Ph. D. psychologists have been trained to deliver the program. It is best to have had prior training in behavior modification or behavior analysis as well as education and training in child development and group dynamics.

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC)
  www.ciccparenting.org
  phone: (818) 980-0903
  6260 Laurel Canyon Road, Ste. 304N
  Hollywood, CA 91606

Training is obtained:

On-site on a contractual basis or by enrolling in scheduled workshops in different cities.

Number of days/hours:

Three 6.5 hour training days.

This program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 – 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Not Specified

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Confident Parenting: Survival Skill Training Program.