Strengthening Families Program

The Strengthening Families Program for Youth10-14 (SFP) was developed for Project Family, a research endeavor of the Center for Family Research at Iowa State University. The program is a seven-session program focusing on reducing family-related risk factors for adolescent problem behaviors and building protective factors in young adolescent children and their parents/caregivers. Program activities include: helping parents/caregivers learn nurturing skills that support their children, teaching parents/caregivers how to effectively discipline and guide their youth, giving youth a healthy future orientation and an increased appreciation of their parents/caregivers, and teaching youth skills for dealing with stress and peer pressure. Additionally, a family-style meal and childcare is provided at each session and incentives are provided to families who complete the entire program.

The DFCC utilizes various funding streams to implement the Strengthening Families Program in the community. Past collaborations have included The Crossing Educational Center, LaSalle Park Homes, Charles Black Center and South Bend Housing Authority.