Awards

Under the leadership of Executive Director Ted N. Strader, COPES has received an extensive array of awards and recognition for our evidence-based Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC) Curriculum Series and other meaningful contributions at the local, national and international level. These awards represent achievements across multiple fields of study including substance abuse prevention and treatment, family strengthening, fatherhood, marriage and criminal justice. Below you will find a chronological list of major awards the COPES team has earned over the years. The list is followed by pictures of some of the awards we proudly display at our home office in Louisville, Kentucky.

In 2020, the CLFC Fatherhood Program was listed on the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Crime Solutions’ evidence-based repository.
In 2020, the CLFC Program was listed on the California Evidence-based Clearinghouse (CEBC) for Child Welfare repository.
In 2019 Ted N. Strader was selected to receive the National Association for Relationship and Marriage Education’s (NARME’s) Joseph L. Hernandez Impact Award for his “lifetime of passion, leadership, commitment and significant impact on advancing foster education for healthy marriages, responsible fathers and strong families.” See the award announcement and acceptance video here!
In 2018 all three programs in the CLFC Curriculum Series were listed in the Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy.
In 2017 all three programs in the CLFC Curriculum Series were re-reviewed and relisted on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
In 2013 the Creating Lasting Family Connections Marriage Enhancement program was listed on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
In 2013 the Creating Lasting Family Connections Fatherhood Program: Family Reintegration was listed on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
In 2013 the John C. Maxwell Leadership Team selected Ted N. Strader to be among the top 100 leaders in the country across the fields of business, government/military, sports, media, faith-based, family/youth, education, arts and entertainment, health and wellness, and community service. Mr. Strader was selected as one of the top 10 leaders in the country in the Family/Youth category.
In 2010 the Creating Lasting Family Connections Program was recognized as an unprecedented fourth time recipient of the Exemplary Program Award from the National Prevention Network (NPN) and the National Association of State Alcohol/Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) (1989, 1995, 2000 and 2010).
In 2010 the Creating Lasting Family Connections program was again listed as a Model Program by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network sponsored by Clemson University.
In 2009 the Creating Lasting Family Connections program was identified as a Promising Fatherhood Program in the Administration for Children and Families’ Responsible Fatherhood Initiative.
In 2007 the Creating Lasting Family Connections program was listed on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
In 2006 the Creating Lasting Family Connections program was reconfirmed as an effective substance abuse and violence prevention curriculum by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In 2002, Creating Lasting Family Connections was chosen as a Model Program by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
In 2001 COPES and the Creating Lasting Family Connections program received a Special Recognition Award from the Executive Office of the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.
In 2001 Creating Lasting Family Connections received the U.S. Department of Education’s Certificate of Recognition as a Promising Program for Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools.
In 2001 Creating Lasting Family Connections was featured as an Exemplary Program by Health Canada’s Preventing Substance Use Problems Among Young People: A Compendium of Best Practices.
The Creating Lasting Family Connections program was featured as a Model Family Program in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Strengthening America’s Family publication on substance abuse and delinquency prevention in 2000.
In 1997, COPES Model program, Creating Lasting Family Connections, was chosen as one of only eight programs nationwide for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s model program dissemination project.
The Creating Lasting Connections program was also featured in the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s “Prevention Works” video in 1996.
Also in 1996, the Creating Lasting Connections program was selected to join the International Youth Foundation’s YouthNet, an international effort to replicate highly successful programs as demonstrated by research. Only the most rigorously evaluated and effective programs in the world are selected to receive this honor.