Strengthening Families Program

My name is Karen Foy; I am the Bucks County Lead Drug and Alcohol Prevention Specialist for the Prevention Education Team (PEP) at Child and Family Focus, Inc. (CFF). We specialize in drug and alcohol prevention and intervention for youth and families in Bucks County, PA. We are here to support you. 

We are offering a free, award-winning evidence-based prevention program, Strengthening Families for parents/caregivers and youth ages 10-14 (SFP 10-14) for all Bucks County families! We are running this program 3 times throughout 2021-2022. This program has been running for nearly 30 years and has several positive benefits to families! We are here to provide children with all tools to succeed as they transition through the tough pre-teen/teen years packed with comparison, isolation, bullies, finding their identity, stress, etc. In this program, while youth are learning and growing amongst their peers, parents/caregivers are learning and growing amongst other parents/caregivers caring for the same aged youth. The World Health Organization named Strengthening Families Program 10-14 the number one prevention program out of 6,000 programs analyzed for long-term effects on substance use and misuse. This program receives the highest accolades in Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, which only recommends programs with the strongest scientific results. Program outcomes as seen on the website https://www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp10-14/ are:

SFP 10-14 Results

• Youth attending the program had significantly lower rates of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use compared to control youth.

• The differences between program and control youth increased over time, indicating that skills learned, and strong parent-child relationships continue to have greater and greater influence.

• Youth attending the program had significantly fewer conduct problems in school than youth in the control group.

• Parents showed gains in specific parenting skills including setting appropriate limits and building a positive relationship with their youth.

• Parents showed an increase in positive feelings towards their child.

• Parents show gains on general child management including setting rules and following through with consequences.

• Parents increase skills in general child management such as effectively monitoring youth and having appropriate and consistent discipline.

The program is funded by Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc and is available at no cost to Bucks County residents, will be held virtually over ZOOM the first 2 sessions and in-person the 3rd session (location in Bucks County, PA TBD), families will receive free weekly $25 restaurant gift cards, and free raffled off prize/giveaways such as, microwaves, vacuums, lamps, printers, art supplies, earphones, crockpots, etc. We are accepting Bucks County families on a first come, first serve basis. Interest beyond capacity will be added to a waiting list. Attached please find flyers for each session and a GIF about the program, SFP 10-14. Topics Covered include peer pressure resistance, reducing stress, finding our family values, better communication skills, problem solving, goal setting, and understanding each other better.

Click here to see a short video clip about the program!

Sign up for Group 1 (virtual) - 12/1/21-12/22/21 - HERE

Sign up for Group 2 (virtual) - 2/5/22-3/19/22 - HERE

Sign up for Group 3 (in-person; Bucks County, PA, TBD) - 4/13/22-5/25/22 - HERE