Program Goals

The goals of the Be Strong Families' (BSF) Parent Café Program are:

• Increase knowledge and confidence in parenting strategies.
• Build a supportive community for parents to share experiences and challenges.
• Strengthen protective factors within families to reduce the risk of child welfare involvement.
• Improve parent-child communication and overall family functioning

Logic Model

View the Logic Model for Be Strong Families (BSF) Parent Café Program.

Essential Components

The essential components of the Be Strong Families' (BSF) Parent Café Program include:

• Parent-Led Conversations: A Parent Café is led by trained facilitators who guide discussions and activities focusing on the Strengthening Families Protective Factors.
• Peer Support: Parents share experiences and provide mutual support, promoting a sense of community and belonging.
• Anatomy: A Café includes structured conversations designed to help parents reflect on their strengths, challenges, and strategies for overcoming obstacles.
• Content Areas: Conversations focus on the five Strengthening Families Protective Factors.
• Flexible Delivery: A Parent Café can be held in various formats, such as in-person or online with flexible durations (90-120 minutes) to meet the needs of different families and agencies.
• Evaluation and Feedback: Regular feedback is obtained from participants to assess the effectiveness of the program and make continuous improvements.

Program Delivery

Parent/Caregiver Services

Be Strong Families (BSF) Parent Café Program directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

• Several challenges and symptoms commonly experienced by parents and caregivers, particularly those involved in child welfare systems or who face social and familial pressures including:
• Parenting Stress due to financial difficulties, caregiving challenges, or systemic barriers
• Disruptive Behaviors in Children such as aggression, defiance, or emotional regulation difficulties, which often affect the family dynamic
• Parenting Gaps such as lack of effective parenting strategies, child discipline, communication, or setting healthy boundaries
• Parental Isolation or Disconnection from supportive networks due to family dynamics, personal struggles, or a lack of community support
• Risk of Child Welfare Involvement due to parents’ inability to meet their child’s needs or manage family stressors effectively
• Child Abuse or Neglect Concerns such as dealing with past issues related to child abuse or neglect, or at risk for such behaviors without adequate support
• Substance Abuse or Mental Health Struggles that impact their ability to care for their children effectively
• Inconsistent Parenting Practices or punitive parenting approaches that may not lead to desired child outcomes, often leading to strained parent-child relationships

Services Involve Family/Support Structures:

This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: Parents are encouraged to include other family members in the discussions when possible. This holistic approach ensures that the entire family is supported and has access to the resources they need for success.

Recommended Intensity:

Each Parent Café must be 90-120 minutes long. Questions and prompts are specifically adapted and selected to meet the parents’ specific needs as prescribed by the agency.

Recommended Duration:

Parent Cafés are flexible and can be prescriptive based on the specific agencies’ needs. Parent Cafes can be a topic-based-series and a prescribed amount of sessions. It can also be scheduled as an ongoing standing Parent Café that parents can attend as needed.

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community Daily Living Setting
• Hospital
• Outpatient Clinic
• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
• Group or Residential Care
• Justice Setting (Juvenile Detention, Jail, Prison, Courtroom, etc.)
• Public Child Welfare Agency (Dept. of Social Services, etc.)
• School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
• Shelter (Domestic Violence, Homeless, etc.)
• Virtual (Online, Smartphone, Zoom, Telephone, Video, etc.)

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Be Strong Families (BSF) Parent Café Program has materials available in a language other than English:

Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• Personnel: Trained Parent Café hosts who are familiar with the Parent Café model and the Strengthening Families framework
• Space: A comfortable, accessible space for cafés (either in-person or virtual)
• Materials: Facilitator manuals, Parent Café in a Box Conversation questions, large easel pad charts, markers, pens, snacks
• Technology: For online delivery, reliable video conferencing tools (e.g., Zoom) and access to computers or smartphones

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

Parent Cafe’ hosts are trained in the Be Strong Families Parent Café Program, which includes understanding the Strengthening Families Framework and skills for hosting group discussions. It is recommended that hosts are parents, or parent-friendly individuals from community organizations, schools, or child welfare.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

The Parent Café Training Institute is copyrighted. It includes the manual, fidelity and the Parent Café in a Box Cards. For more information, please contact the Training Contact below.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Robyn Harvey
  www.bestrongfamilies.org/get-trained-on-cafes
  Robyn@bestrongfamilies.net
  phone: (800) 805-2505

Training Type/Location:

Be Strong Families Parent Café Program training is obtained by contracting with Be Strong Families. Trainings can be arranged for specific agencies, organizations, or networks of providers looking to augment their Parent Engagement efforts.

Some implementation resources are provided after training.

Number of days/hours:

Be Strong Families Parent Café Training is two days (8 hours/day) in-person and three days (8 hours/ day) for online.

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

There are currently no published, peer-reviewed research studies on outcomes with the appropriate target population for the topic area(s) in which Be Strong Families (BSF) Parent Café Program has been reviewed.

Additional References