The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Families Facing the Future program has been rated by the CEBC in the area of: Substance Abuse Treatment (Adult).

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Mothers, fathers, and children ages 5-14.

The Families Facing the Future program was developed for parents receiving methadone treatment and for their children. The primary goals of the project were to reduce parents' use of illegal drugs and to reduce risk factors for their children's future drug use while enhancing protective factors.

The Families Facing the Future parent training curriculum consists of one five-hour family retreat and 32 hour-and-a-half parent training sessions. Sessions are conducted twice a week over a 16-week period. Children attend 12 of these sessions to practice the skills with their parents. Session topics are targeted at specific risk and protective factors; and include:

• Family Goal Setting: This five-hour session focuses on bringing a variety of families together to share a common, trust-building experience. Families work together to develop goals for their participation.
• Relapse Prevention: These four sessions include identification of relapse signals or triggers, anger and stress control, and creating and practicing a relapse plan in the event of relapse. The primary focus during these sessions is the impact of relapse on the client's children and skills to prevent and cope with relapse situations.
• Family Communication Skills: The skills of Paraphrasing, Open Questions, "I" Messages are taught during these sessions. Families practice using the skills during two practice sessions. Families also practice and use Family Involvement Skills to develop family expectations and plans for regular family meetings or family play and fun time. All subsequent groups reinforce the use of the communication skills taught in these early sessions. Families are asked to conduct weekly family meetings to practice the skills learned in the training.
• Family Management Skills: Parents learn and practice setting clear and specific expectations, monitoring expectations, rewarding for positive behaviors, and instilling consequences for negative behaviors. Parents practice implementing "the law of least intervention," using the smallest intervention to get the desired behavior from their child. A variety of discipline practices are learned and practiced by parents. These include, praise, ignoring, expressing feelings, if-then messages, time-outs, and privilege restrictions.
• Creating Family Expectations about Drugs and Alcohol: Families work together to define and clarify expectations about drugs and alcohol in their families.
• Teaching Children Skills: Parents learn how to teach their children two important skills, Refusal Skills and Problem Solving Skills, using a five-step process.
• Helping Children Succeed In School: Parents build on the previously learned skills to create, monitor, and consequence a home learning routine for their children.

Parent sessions are conducted with groups of six to eight families. It is necessary to provide practice opportunities as well as skill components that address recurring problem behaviors specific to the needs of the parents. The parent training format combines a peer support and skill training model. The training curriculum teaches skills using the "guided participant modeling." Skills are modeled by trainers and other group members, then discussed by participants. Skills steps are reviewed and then parents practice the steps. Video-tape is frequently used in modeling the skills or during practice of the skills. The training focuses on affective and cognitive as well as behavioral aspects of performance.

The curriculum allows for participant practice in situations they currently face with their own children. Parents complete home extension exercises after each session to generalize the skills from the training setting to the home setting. After parents learn and practice skills, family sessions are conducted where parents and children practice using their new skills together.

The Families Facing the Future case management intervention comprehensively addresses important aspects of family life. The case management intervention is designed to test the effectiveness of:

• helping families to identify their goals and empowering them to work toward those goals
• building on families' strengths to stabilize their household through providing tangible services and skills
• working directly with clients and their families to reduce post-treatment relapse factors and risk factors for later drug abuse by children
• motivating and encouraging continuation with the parenting skills training
• further reinforcing, practicing, and generalizing parenting skills to the home environment.

Case managers approach these tasks by providing families with a pro-social model, offering them opportunities for involvement in pro-social activities, networking them into needed services, and changing their reward structure through coaching and reinforcement of their new skills. Case managers also work with families to accomplish the family goals established in the initial parent training session.

Families Facing the Future was designed with a child component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Parents with drug abuse and dependence problems.

Age range: 5 – 14

Developmental Delays:

This program was not developed for children with developmental delays, and has not been tested for children with developmental delays.

Families Facing the Future was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Drug abuse and dependence.

Families Facing the Future was designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended group size:

8-10 families.

Testing References:

Catalano, R. F., Haggerty, K. P., Fleming, C. B., Brewer, D. D., & Gainey, R. R. (2002). Children of substance abusing parents: Current findings from the Focus on Families project. In R.J. McMahon & R.D. Peters, (eds.), The effects of parental dysfunction on children (pp. 179-204). New York: Kluwer Academic Press/Plenum Publishers.

Gainey, R. R., Haggerty, K. P., Fleming, C. B., & Catalano, R. F. (2007). Teaching parenting skills in a methadone treatment setting. Social Work Research, 31(3), 185-190.

Haggerty, K. P., Skinner, M. L., Fleming, C. B., Gainey, R. R., & Catalano, R. F. (2008). Long-term effects of the Focus on Families project on substance use disorders among children of parents in methadone treatment. Addiction, 103, 2008-2016

Recommended Intensity:

Parents: 1.5 hour sessions, twice a week, Children: 1.5 hour session, approximately once a week.

Recommended Duration:

Parents: One 5-hour session, then 32 sessions (16 weeks), Children: 12 sessions (12 weeks).

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Outpatient Clinic

Families Facing the Future includes a homework component:

Short family activities to be completed.

Families Facing the Future does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• 1 meeting room
• Cost of two full to half-time staff are needed for group work and home visits
• Childcare
• DVD or VHS player
• TV

Training in chemical dependency and parenting, Master's level education.

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

Training Contact:

• Kevin Haggerty
  haggerty@u.washington.edu
  phone: (206) 543-3188

Training is obtained:

Onsite; travel expenses must be reimbursed.

Number of days/hours:

3 days at 8 hours per day.

Since Families Facing the Future is highly rated on the Scientific Rating Scale, information was requested from the program representative on available pre-implementation assessments, implementation tools, and/or fidelity measures.

This program is rated a "2 - Supported by Research Evidence" on the Scientific Rating Scale based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The practice must have at least one rigorous randomized controlled trial with a sustained effect of at least 6 months. Please see the Scientific Rating Scale for more information.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being