Question 1: How do we know that the Creating Lasting Family Connections® program is effective?
Creating Lasting Connections®, the demonstration program on which CLFC is based, was implemented in urban, rural, and suburban church communities in and around Louisville, Kentucky. The communities served included primarily African-American, as well as primarily Caucasian populations. In CLFC, both parents and youth received training, and participating families received early intervention services and follow-up case management.
The evaluation, under the direction of Dr. Knowlton Johnson, of Community Systems Research Institute, Inc. (an independent party), used a true experimental design, in that the youth were randomly assigned to either a program or a comparison group. The evaluation also used three repeated measures over a one-year period, which allowed the measurement of both short-term and sustained gains. Another strength of the evaluation was that it examined moderating effects of resiliency factors in multiple domains, which “increases the probability of detecting statistically significant results, which facilitates a more accurate understanding of the effects” of the program (Johnson, Strader, Berbaum, Bryant, Bucholtz, Collins & Noe, 1996: 65).
Some of the main findings included the following. In terms of positive direct effects of the program, there were statistically significant sustained gains by both parents and youth in these areas:
Statistically significant short-term effects of the program on parent and youth resiliency outcomes included the following:
In addition to these statistically significant short-term gains, short-term gains that were close to being significant were noted in the following areas:
Besides the program effects described above, the evaluation also included examination of “moderating effects” in which the program was shown to have “produced positive moderating effects on AOD use among youth as a result of conditional relationships with changes in family-level and youth-level resiliency factors targeted by the program” (Johnson et al., 1996: 63). For example, a family-level factor that served as a moderator variable for delaying the onset of AOD use was increased program-advocated AOD knowledge and beliefs by parents.
The following were statistically significant moderating effects of family and youth resiliency factors on youth AOD use found through the CLC evaluation:
For a more detailed discussion of the CLC evaluation findings, the reader is referred to the primary journal article containing the description and results of the evaluation of Creating Lasting Connections® (the demonstration project from which Creating Lasting Family Connections® was developed). That article appeared in the Journal of Adolescent Research (1996). The authors were Knowlton Johnson, Ted Strader, Michael Berbaum, Denise Bryant, Gregory Bucholtz, David Collins, and Tim Noe. In addition to this article, others appeared in the Journal of Volunteer Administration (Strader, Collins, Noe & Johnson, 1997); in Social Work (Johnson, Bryant, Collins, Noe, Strader & Berbaum, 1998); and an article in the Journal of Community Practice (Johnson, Noe, Collins, Strader & Bucholtz, 2000).
The reader should note that the program effects found in the CLC evaluation resulted from the implementation of the comprehensive CLC model, which included community mobilization, parent and youth trainings, and early intervention/case management and follow-up services. Also, our program achieved meaning violence reduction outcomes in a later study, called Family Connections®, where we achieved a direct effect on reducing uncontrolled behavior in participating youth.
Question 2: If I implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®, how can I measure whether my implementation is successful?
One can measure their results using the CLFC evaluation kit availabe from Resilient Futures Network.
Community Systems Research Institute, Inc. (CSRI) has developed a CLFC evaluation kit to measure the effectiveness of CLFC replications. CSRI developed this kit based on the evaluation design and findings of the CLC demonstration project. The CLFC evaluation kit (Johnson & Young, 1999) is a comprehensive guide for measuring specific outcomes related to CLFC. The kit includes self-administered surveys (based in part on the CLC parent and youth interviews and the CLC youth questionnaire) for both youth and parents, the psychometric properties of the scales in the surveys, survey administration and scoring guidelines, parent consent forms, and contact information for technical assistance on evaluating CLFC.
Question 3: What are the main differences between Creating Lasting Family Connections® and the earlier Creating Lasting Connections®?
A key difference is that Creating Lasting Family Connections®, which is the dissemination version of the program, has more flexibility in terms of implementation options. It has a standard implementation option, which uses community advocate teams just as the original Creating Lasting Connections® did. In addition, we have added a school-based implementation option, in which students (typically in grades 6 to 9) can complete the youth modules either during the course of one school year or by spreading the modules out over three school years. In the school-based implementation option, the parents of the students can be concurrently involved in the parent trainings.
In addition to the school-based option, we have other options that acknowledge that in some situations either the parent trainings or the youth trainings can be implemented without the other. For example, the parent training only option might be used either for a group of parents or as a training for social workers, youth service providers, or other adults who work with youth. Similarly, the youth training only option may be viable in either school settings or other organizational settings where parent participation is not likely.
The following three diagrams show the Parent Training (Only) option, the Youth Training (Only) option, and the School-based option. The standard option is described in Chapter 3. First, the Parent Training (Only) option can be offered to parents even if their youth do not participate in the youth trainings. Another version of this option is that these trainings can be offered as a training program for social workers, youth service providers, and other caring adults who work with youth. Training these “impactors” can increase our ability to reach youth in a variety of settings.
Parent Trainings (Only) / Training of Impactors Option
Developing Positive Parental Influences
Raising Resilient Youth
Getting Real Communications Training
The Youth (Only) trainings can be offered without the parent trainings. Another variation is that the trainings in the Youth (Only) option can be offered in consecutive years or spread over the period of one school year.
Youth Trainings (Only) Option
Developing a Positive Response
Developing Independence and Responsibility
Getting Real Communications Training
The following diagram shows the school-based option. This implementation option is similar to the community-based standard option (see Chapter 3) except that it focuses on youth in grades 6 through 9. This option can be implemented either with parents and youth or with youth only. As with the youth only option, the program can be implemented either over the course of a single school year or over three school years. The actual division of grades in which the modules are implemented depends on the organizational structure of the school system involved.
School-Based Option
| Grade | Youth Trainings | Parent Trainings |
| 6th or 7th | Developing a Positive Response |
Developing Positive Parental Influences |
| 7th or 8th | Developing Independence and Responsibility |
Raising Resilient Youth |
| 8th or 9th | Getting Real Communications Training |
Getting Real Communications Training |
|
(Optional) Getting Real: Parent and Youth Combined Sessions
|
||
We have also realized that it is important for agencies and organizations that want to implement science-based prevention programs like ours to have flexibility in the training modules used. For example, an organization or community that wants to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections® may already be successfully using an alcohol and other drug issues training. In such cases, it may be beneficial for the community to continue using that ATOD prevention-related issues training, and to combine it with other modules from CLFC in order to establish a more comprehensive prevention program for their community. Combining their existing training modules with ours would not only create a more comprehensive approach, it would reinforce respect for the community investment in programs that they see as their own. This is consistent with our primary belief that it is important in prevention efforts to take advantage of the strengths already present in a community.
A single caveat, however, is needed: The training module or other component an organization decides to retain and use as part of this more comprehensive package for their community must be compatible in its general premises with our other training modules.
Question 4: How does Creating Lasting Family Connections® achieve involvement of parents?
A significant challenge to the implementation of community-based prevention programs identified by Lorion and Ross (1992) is the difficulty of engaging parents. Yet engaging parents is critical because even though parents often feel inadequate, powerless, or helpless in dealing with a child, research suggests that parental influence is the most powerful factor in prevention (Hazelden Foundation, 1988).
A number of strategies are used to engage parents and other caring adults in the Creating Lasting Family Connections® program. First, in the standard implementation, community advocate teams are recruited and trained to identify and recruit families into the program and to assist in retaining them in the program. These community advocate teams include recognized community leaders who are more likely than outside experts to be able to recruit and retain families successfully.
Second, the parents themselves, once recruited, are actively involved in the parent trainings described in Chapters 3 and 4. Throughout these trainings, the program focuses on the internal motivation that parents possess. We have often noticed that the youth seem to pick up on many of the skills we are teaching more quickly than their parents do, but once both parents and kids experience ways in which the training can benefit their families, a synergy develops that can be very powerful.
Third, once families have been recruited into the program, attention must also be given to retention. In fact, Lorion and Ross (1992) cited program retention as another key challenge to community-based prevention programs. Again, the involvement of community advocate teams is critical to addressing this challenge. The team members typically do a number of things to encourage parents and youth to remain in the trainings and other activities. For example, they may call when a family member is absent from a training session to let the participant know that he or she was missed. The participant is often encouraged to return to a warm welcome on the next training date. Finally, participants are gently encouraged to discuss any problems or conflicts they may be experiencing in the training or in their private life that might interfere with their ability to participate. As a result, the case manager is sometimes able to assist with personal problems and help maintain participation.
Question 5: How does CLFC achieve involvement of youth?
We have successfully engaged youth, as well as parents, in 20 to 25 weeks of training in communication, AOD issues, and other areas of family life. In Creating Lasting Connections®, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) demonstration project from which we developed Creating Lasting Family Connections®, we achieved the participation even of high-risk youth in this fairly intensive program in a community setting (i.e., where youth participation was not mandatory as it is in some programs, such as school-based prevention programs). This success is a good indication that many youth are motivated to learn.
Again, as with parents, a key to successfully recruiting and retaining youth is to lay the groundwork for the family component by first mobilizing the community. This process was described in detail in Chapter 5. Not surprisingly, many youth seem extremely happy and encouraged to see their parents participate. In some instances, though, children appear uncomfortable or even embarrassed to be seen in their parents’ presence. Many children between the target ages of 11 to 17 are experiencing a desire to be perceived as independent of their parents. This is especially true for those from ages 13 to 17. (How many of us parents have noticed the physical distance increase between our children and us as we approach the entrance of Wal-Mart?) Some children, though, also seem to have doubts about their own parents’ social acceptability, and this concern may add another level of discomfort to being identified with their parents in public. It is interesting to watch how this dynamic often dissipates after a CLFC facilitator is able to demonstrate a warm acceptance of the parent and the child both separately through individual bonding and collectively, as a family team. Many of these children achieve a new level of acceptance, tolerance, and bonding with their parent by the end of the program.
Question 6: You have noted that how one defines community is a key to successfully implementing prevention programs. What does this mean for an organization that is interested in implementing Creating Lasting Family Connections®?
We have found through experience that it makes the most sense to link up with people for preventive interventions where “community” of some nature already seems to exist. We also believe that this is true for programs targeting social problems other than substance abuse. “Community” to us means any setting in which people share interests and activities and provide a degree of support for one another. By this definition, a community clearly is not limited to a single geographical entity.
In Creating Lasting Connections®, we targeted high-risk youth and their families through church communities. In Chapter 5, we described in detail our community mobilization strategy, which was first developed within church communities for the CLC program. Here we would emphasize the importance of flexibility in implementing either the community mobilization component or any of the other program components, including the parent and youth trainings. We found, for example, that each community had varying prevailing attitudes toward such issues as alcohol and other drug use. By paying attention to these differences and incorporating the input of community leaders into the program presentations, we were able to successfully mobilize a number of communities that were varied in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other characteristics.
Variations based on the type of community one is targeting are evident as well. For example, in our Creating Lasting Connections® program, we conducted background research on church communities and found that they share some important characteristics that may set them apart from other types of communities. We found also that church communities tend to be ideal social systems from which to launch preventive programs. There are a number of reasons for this:
– Churches have significant contact with families across their life-span
– Churches often have a number of linkages with human service providers.
– Churches often provide their own social outreach programs.
Different types of communities will have different characteristics that may impact implementation of programs. For example, recreational clubs, such as boys and girls clubs, are very different from churches in terms of parental and youth involvement, and these differences have ramifications for program implementation. Basically, it is important to analyze how community is taking place in whatever setting you are involved. It is helpful to ask yourself whether this is a parent-based community, a child-based community, or a family-based community. Churches are often family-based communities; schools are often child-based communities; recreation centers come in both varieties; and corporations are often parent-based communities. Family-based groups are clearly the best places to recruit and retain family participants.
Question 7: What makes a good trainer for Creating Lasting Family Connections®?
Through COPES’s experience of facilitating the curricula described in Chapter 3 (including several earlier versions) with thousands of participants, and from training other trainers to facilitate the curricula, we have learned that specific trainer characteristics increase the likelihood of providing a successful training experience.
The following is a list of characteristics we believe are helpful if one is to be an influential and effective trainer:
1. outgoing and caring personality
2. non-judgmental, tolerant of different opinions
3. able to handle and accept ambiguity (can see both sides of an issue)
4. able to hold and model moderate beliefs and attitudes (does not hold or model extreme beliefs and attitudes)
5. natural helping attitude
6. has experienced successful group-oriented personal growth opportunities, including counseling, spiritual development, self-help, or related activities
7. able to recognize, name, and express feelings as they occur
Although anyone who completes our Creating Lasting Family Connections® training of trainers can facilitate the various trainings, trainers who already possess or can quickly learn to display the characteristics listed above will be effective and influential trainers.
In addition, we have found that in order to become a successful trainer, it is important to be able to build meaningful relationships. This takes time, energy, and commitment.
It is helpful to listen to participants and to take them seriously. Once established or strengthened in these relationships, it is helpful to foster responsibility. Responsibility is made up of self-care and care for others. In order to foster this in others, one must demonstrate both self-care and caring for others. Finally, it is important to recognize that extreme attitudes promote extreme behaviors. Moderate attitudes, coupled with a calm approach, take time to develop, but remain effective for long periods of time.
Question 8: Having discussed characteristics of a good trainer for CLFC, how do you assess trainers’ skills and qualities to implement the program? What training do you offer them based on your assessment?
Most people, even experienced preventionists, need some amount of training to engage in the number and qualitative depth of skills required to successfully implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®. In general, those who are inexperienced as prevention trainers are likely to require up to ten days of training, whereas those who have a good knowledge of prevention and some training experience may require only 5 days of training in order to feel prepared to implement the CLFC program for parents and/or youth.
As we developed Creating Lasting Family Connections®, we saw the need to assess potential trainers’ characteristics, experience, attitudes, and values. This assessment was needed to determine whether to conduct a five- or ten-day training. To address this need, we developed a readiness assessment survey to be administered to all prevention trainers within organizations planning to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®.
Attitudes and values of trainers are measured by the degree to which they agree or disagree with a number of items around both alcohol and other drug issues and by more general trainer characteristic issues relevant to the CLFC program.
The following statements exemplify the AOD items (preferred responses are shown in parentheses):
– Alcoholics drink alcohol every day. (Strongly disagree)
– It is clearly harmful and dangerous for people to have even one alcoholic drink. (Strongly disagree)
– Regular marijuana use is a harmless and pleasurable practice. (Strongly disagree)
The following are examples of the trainer characteristic and attitude items included in the survey:
– Effective youth workers avoid discussions involving youth feelings of pain, sadness, or anger. (Strongly disagree)
– It is important for children to share in household chores. (Strongly agree)
– Social lies are a good way of protecting people’s feelings. (Strongly disagree)
– Every youth group has a few loudmouths and troublemakers who are always going to be problems. (Strongly disagree)
Once an organization’s trainers have completed the survey, the instrument is scored by comparing actual responses with desired responses. This score provides a good measure of the kind of training needed by the potential trainers.
Staff members of COPES then discuss these scores with the program manager considering training for his staff or volunteers and negotiate a meaningful training plan by looking at training needs, training budget, schedules, and agency commitment. The training plan is also custom designed based on a dialogue between COPES staff and the organization planning to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®. Thus, in addition to our five- and 10-day training plans, we often provide custom trainings for groups that last three, four, six, eight or nine days, based on the results of the survey, the agency director’s discretion, or (unfortunately) the agency budget.
Question 9: You discussed what makes a good trainer, but what about community advocate teams? What makes a good team? A good team member?
In our demonstration project, we found that it was desirable for community advocate team members to have certain characteristics. These include the following:
– outgoing personality
– responsibility (for example, is on time for meetings)
– being well connected to the community
– possessing leadership qualities
– assertiveness
– enthusiasm
– promoting of moderate attitudes
– openness to new ideas
The best team size is generally between six and eight active members, depending on the type of setting and the availability of leaders. Also, it is desirable to have both youth and adult members on the community advocate team. We have found as well that having a variety of personality types on a team is beneficial to group functioning because the different types of leaders complement each other in important ways. The selection and recruitment process is unique in every community.
We are not yet totally confident in our own ability to understand how to get the right CAT members involved. Unfortunately, we often find out the selections were wrong only after recruitment is complete. We slap ourselves on the back and take the credit when the recruitment target is met, but the down side is that we find everyone pointing their fingers at us when recruitment fails. (By failed recruitment, we mean a recruitment drive that results in inadequate numbers of families interested in participating in the program.) To be honest, it is likely that the Community Advocate Team itself can best perform the post-mortem for a failed recruitment drive. This makes sense particularly because they are community members. Sometimes the fault lies with the total apathy within the larger community itself, rather than with any fault of the Community Advocate Team or CLFC trainers.
Question 10: In the standard implementation of CLFC, what is the optimum group size for the training for parents? For youth?
In general, we have found that the optimum group size for parents or youth is from 8 to 15, with a maximum desirable size of no more than 25. We based this number on our experience in implementing community, family, and individual youth trainings in a number of different community types, including churches, schools, community organizations, and corporations.
Question 11: What training materials are available for those who want to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®? What other materials (such as implementation handbooks) do you recommend?
The curriculum materials available include a complete CLFC program package, which contains all five training manuals, a set of twenty-five participant notebooks for all five trainings, and five poster sets that accompany the training modules. For more information regarding other supporting materials, call our office at (502) 583-6820.
Question 12: What if my organization wants to write a grant for funding to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®? Can COPES assist us in this?
Yes, COPES can often assist in grant writing through the provision of supporting materials, letters of support and commitment to provide training, and through review of other grant sections being included in grant narratives. For assistance call or write COPES, Inc.
Question 13: What is the average cost for implementing Creating Lasting Family Connections®?
If the organization already has skilled and experienced staff (see question above), then the only cost would be the cost of the curriculum materials (from $1500 to $2,000). However, an organization would typically need to budget at least $750 per week of training needed per trainee, plus travel costs to a training site near them. If an organization or a group of organizations has several people who need trainings, the cost can often be reduced by arranging for COPES’ trainers to provide onsite training.
When an agency requires training (in order to replicate with fidelity), implementation costs can vary dramatically (see below).
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Program is a science-based, research proven and highly effective substance abuse and violence prevention program for youth and families. It requires skilled and experienced facilitators in order to obtain consistent results. It is difficult to determine the cost of implementation because agencies choose to implement this highly flexible, yet comprehensive program in such a variety of ways. There are six separate modules, 3 for parents and 3 for youth. These modules may be implemented independently, in concert with other modules, or as a whole in a complete and full replication of the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Program which includes all six modules and a Community Mobilization process.
The following information may be helpful in determining implementation costs for your organization.
If the organization has skilled and experienced staff, then the only new cost may be the cost of the curriculum materials (from $1500 to $2000). However, most organizations typically need to budget at least $750 (per staff member needing training) for one week of CLFC Implementation training, plus travel costs to a training site near them. If an organization (or a group of organizations) has several people who need training, the cost can be reduced. (Please call COPES, Inc. to examine a variety of training options.) Further, an agency might want to budget for as few as two part-time facilitators (for a medium to low fidelity replication) or for up to four or more part-time facilitators/trainers (for high fidelity implementation) in order to implement the entire program including mobilization, recruitment, and actual training. For example, let’s say an agency wants to employ 4 part-time employees @ .10 FTE each in an area of the nation that an annual salary of $30,000/year is appropriate. The agency wants to serve 40-50 families per year. Therefore, this agency’s first year costs might include the cost of materials (2 sets at 1,250.00 each = $2,500) + training (4 trainees x $750.00 = $3000.00) + part-time facilitators (4 x .10 FTE x $30,000 = $12,000) for a grand total of $17,500. (Note: Use your local rates for staffing including any cost for benefits and any travel costs.) This example includes, 4 part-time facilitators, and at this time commitment, they could serve 40 families per year, including recruitment and program services (but not evaluation). We’ve seen budgets ranging from as little as $10,000 to $12,000 per year serving 40 families and up to $250,000 serving 100 families per year. If an agency is serious about implementing the program as designed, the typical budget starts around $25,000 and up. Year two and subsequent years costs can drop considerably because training and related travel are not required. (In the future, as we gain evaluation data from these other sites regarding results, and then analyze these results in conjunction with budgetary investments, we hope to gain insight into the most appropriate levels of funding generally needed.)
Please call COPES, Inc. to examine the variety of training options.
Question 14: What generally is involved in the Creating Lasting Family Connections® implementation training?
Typically, the potential trainers would be taken through an abridged version of all the CLFC training modules to gain an understanding of what it means to be a participant in these trainings. Next, potential trainers would be provided an in-depth training on each of the modules. In this portion of the training, they would be given tips on how best to engage participants in the various modules. Another component of the training of trainers consists of “mock” training exercises, in which participants act as trainers and are subsequently given feedback from the group. Finally, the training includes a community mobilization component which focuses on recruitment and retention planning.
Question 15: Does completion of the CLFC implementation training qualify a trainer to train others who are interested in implementing the CLFC program in other communities?
The CLFC implementation training is designed to provide the skills necessary for implementing Creating Lasting Family Connections® with youth and families in one’s community. It is not designed to empower people to train others to implement CLFC. That requires both successful implementation of our program and successful completion of our CLFC Master Trainers course. Certified Master Trainers are eligible to receive compensation (travel, per diem, and training fees) from COPES, Inc. for conducting certified implementation trainings.
Question 16: Your Creating Lasting Family Connections® program appears to go pretty deep. Is this therapy?
Yes, our program goes into each topical area with a fair degree of depth, but it is not the same as therapy. No counseling is involved. The program can and does have a therapeutic effect on some individuals and families. The program is clearly an educational and skill-building program designed to be provided in a group setting. The skills that are taught and practiced in the curriculum are very positive and nurturing practices that certainly impact the individual who learns and uses them. It is not at all surprising that these improvements in one family member (parent) would also impact others in the family.
Question 17: Do you think most grass-roots facilitators are qualified to become Creating Lasting Family Connections® trainers and take on such a deep and powerful role?
This sounds like two separate but related questions. First, is it appropriate for “regular” people to lead or facilitate this type of family program? And second, can “regular” people really facilitate this program?
Yes, we believe it is very appropriate for “regular” people to make a conscientious effort to assist others who have children to raise them successfully. And we believe that many adults outside the nuclear family can and should provide a positive influence on other community members’ children especially when the children’s parents need and request assistance. Raising children is a deep and powerful responsibility that in most cultures has been shared with others outside of the immediate family for centuries. It’s virtually unavoidable anyway. Simply stated, we believe that those of us who are willing to help others who want and/or need our assistance can learn to improve our methods as we assist them.
Further, we believe that “regular” people are essentially the best suited to become Creating Lasting Family Connections® trainers. By “regular” people we mean that people are not required to have an advanced degree in psychology, counseling, education, or sociology to become a Creating Lasting Family Connections® trainer. On the other hand, to possess such a degree would not be a disadvantage either. The skills promoted in the Creating Lasting Family Connections® program are human skills. We believe anyone who wants to improve his or her skills and is willing to assist others with improving skills can do so. We provide a skill-building training for adults who are interested in implementing this program with others. Anyone who has access to our materials and is comfortable enough with the program to implement it with others can justifiably do so. Many people gain great confidence in their Creating Lasting Family Connections® facilitation skills as a result of receiving our implementation training.
Question 18: Your training seems very sophisticated. How well does it work with uneducated or economically disadvantaged families?
Our training is comprehensive and systematic so it might be fair to call it sophisticated. We certainly understand your question, too. When we first designed the research model, Creating Lasting Connections®, we intended it for use with high-risk youth and families. We were concerned that it might be overwhelming for some of them, or even turn them off. Yet in our implementation of the program, we did not experience any major negative reactions to its sophistication. There were three reasons that we think we were able to reduce this possible tension. First, people were told to use the workbooks only if they preferred to do so. We told them we recognized that some people hate or struggle to read, while others enjoy it. We showed respect for either choice or preference. The training is designed to be primarily visual and experiential, and they were assured that participants would receive the majority of benefits from our program simply by showing up for the trainings and participating. We were not uptight about people choosing not to read or even accept the participant notebooks or handouts.
Second, the program is designed to support the parent as the decision-maker in the family. We took care to ensure that the program does not preach, judge, or stigmatize in any way people who attend. No one is forcing attendance, homework, or even ideas onto anyone else. We worked hard to develop a local community advocate team to help us create the right atmosphere around the program, and this helped us put people at ease.
Finally, because we were the facilitators in this research study, we already had experience working with families such as these and we were thus very comfortable working with them. The facilitator is the centerpiece of this training once the families have been recruited by the community advocate team. We really believe that if the facilitator is comfortable with his or her role, is familiar with the materials, and is accepting of the participants, then everyone is likely to have a very positive and affirming experience.
We would also like to acknowledge that we have had times when people signed up for the program who apparently had no genuine intention of becoming truly involved. This occurred in the program with the Community Advocate Team. You will find people (of all socioeconomic and educational levels) who appear to be reluctant to say no–even to one of their own community members. They say yes, sign up, and then never show up. This is unfortunate because they would especially benefit from our Getting Real training, which assists people who have difficulty saying no.
Question 19: How do you make your training culturally relevant for minority populations?
We make a serious attempt to design our program to draw on the “human experience” rather than to focus on any individual experience. Regardless, we recognize that each of us as authors or curriculum developers are still limited by our individual and cultural experiences, even though we may have broad cultural experience. We engineered cultural input from the target population by creating the Community Advocate Team component as part of our Community Mobilization design. The Community Advocate Team is expected to teach, mentor, or otherwise instruct the program facilitators in gaining an understanding of the local cultural issues and to provide a two-way bridge of understanding and acceptance between the participant population and the facilitator(s). This unique design feature has proven to be indispensable because it is so effective in overcoming cultural, social, and related differences between (and among) facilitators and participants.
Question 20: Violence is a big issue right now. How does your program target violence prevention?
Our Creating Lasting Family Connections® program includes five training modules. Two of these modules have a direct bearing on violence-related factors, and all five send a comprehensive message of acceptance, inclusion, and respect for others. We believe that people who experience large amounts of acceptance, inclusion, and respect likewise experience an increased sense of connection with others and are therefore much less likely to become involved in violent behaviors. The two training components that deal very directly with violence reduction are Raising Resilient Youth and Getting Real. The Raising Resilient Youth training encourages parents to avoid physical or corporal punishment as a primary means of influencing their children’s behavior. Children who typically experience regular physical punishment or abuse are at a greater than normal risk of engaging in aggressive and violent behavior. In the Getting Real curriculum, both youth and parents are encouraged to role-play a variety of pressure situations that might trigger a powerful emotional reaction. Participants are taught the Getting Real response, which incorporates respect, confidence, friendship (if possible), and honesty. These responses move the situation away from conflict and the likelihood of violence. Further, Getting Real teaches both youth and adults how to exit an escalating conflict where resolution appears unlikely. While we did not include any violence measures in our original research design, in subsequent studies we achieved violence related results including a reduction in uncontrolled behavior by youth as a direct outcome. These findings were presented at the National Prevention Network Conference in Columbus Ohio, September, 2000. We are currently working on an article which we hope to publish in the near future.
Question 21: What are some common problems people encounter when using your program?
There are several pitfalls that we have encountered when implementing this program and that others have experienced too. The biggest potential problem is low recruitment and/or high attrition. It is hard to recruit families for almost any type of event, and this is especially true for an 18- to 20-week program involving both parents and youth.
The list of reasons why our own recruitment efforts have suffered in the past is already long and continuing to grow. The most common problem is poor planning and overly optimistic expectations at the beginning of an implementation. We now often spend up to six months of fairly intensive time and energy in the community mobilization phase. Identifying the right community and the right community leaders to support a recruitment drive is critical. Next, we’ve learned to pay attention to subtle but nevertheless clear indicators that recruitment is not going to go well in a given setting. If community advocate teams are hard to develop, then recruitment is likely to be impossible. Sometimes we target communities not yet ready to receive our message. Discretion may help us avoid wasting a lot of time and effort attempting a recruitment drive when indications are that a community is not ready to support it. It is important to avoid the trap of assuming that because a community is experiencing a drug problem, the community members will really want the program. Sometimes the worse the problem appears in an area, the harder it will be to gain widespread support for a prevention program.
Next, we have sent inappropriately skilled or trained staff out to recruit in communities to which they are poorly suited. While race, gender, and age immediately come to mind, our most serious errors have occurred when our own representatives have not had faith, confidence, or real respect for community members of leaders they were asked to engage. Prevention staff promoting the program must truly believe in themselves, the materials, and target population members’ ability to ultimately care for themselves and their children.
Another real problem occurs when a community group is concerned about the substance abuse problem and really wants to push for the program in their community. We have encountered this problem in a variety of forms over the years. The problem often first shows up as an apparent minor variance in philosophy between community leaders and our program model. Typically these leaders have a subtle anger, resentment, or judgment hidden beneath the surface in their motivation to “help” the community. Notice how above we said that they want to “push” for the program. No one, however, really wants to be pushed into a program. Gentle but clear confrontation whenever even small hints of this type of attitude is expressed by community leaders or community advocate team members helps to avoid problems of this type. We’ve come to the conclusion that if this type of push/pull mentality continues after we’ve confronted it early and often it may be better to move our recruitment efforts elsewhere.
Finally, we’ve encountered some problems with extremely difficult participants. It usually isn’t someone who is consciously trying to cause a problem. Most often it is either someone in a crisis who simply dominates the group discussions and overwhelms the trainer and group with personal needs and questions, or it is someone who is seriously challenged intellectually or who is emotionally disturbed and they are impossible to manage in a group setting. These individuals usually need a more focused effort and benefit from receiving a referral to a more appropriate individual counseling setting. Other participants can be “run off” if the trainer does not intervene early enough and yet the converse is also an issue. Trainers are wise to remain somewhat accepting of individuals who occasionally exhibit mildly inappropriate behavior. We have found it helpful to acknowledge these behaviors as inappropriate while supporting and accepting the individual involved. If this approach is not adequate to cause some improvement in the participant’s behavior, a private meeting may be required to make the trainer’s expectations very explicit.
Any individuals or groups experiencing any implementation challenges in using our curricula are encouraged to call our office for suggestions and consultation.
Question 22: Okay, I’m convinced your program is the greatest thing since sliced bread. How can I convince my boss or the other community leaders to purchase and implement your program?
We do not have any magic response to this question. We do, though, have a wealth of experience in helping people who share this need to gain the necessary support of others to get the program started in their organizations. We can offer without charge some very attractive promotional materials that you can use to help educate and persuade the decision-makers in your community. In addition, we are often available for a limited amount of free telephone consultation to assist you in this effort. Please feel free to call our primary author, Ted N. Strader at (502) 583-6820 for assistance in these matters.
Question 23: What if I have question about your program later?
Please do not hesitate to contact us at
COPES, Inc.
845 Barret Avenue,
Louisville, KY 40204
Tel: 502-583-6820
FAX:502-583-6832
Email: info@copes.org
tstrader@sprynet.com
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program is designed to specifically address stresses within a marriage when one of its members is in recovery for substance abuse, incarcerated or reentering the community after a period of incarceration, military service, or any other form of physical or emotional separation. The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program helps couples to develop a variety of skills married partners find useful in establishing or re-establishing family harmony. Topics include marriage enrichment, effective communication, refusal and conflict resolution skills, using positive parenting techniques, and encouraging other responsible and healthy attitudes and behaviors.
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program is offered in 2 Flexible Formats:
Weekend Retreat/16 hour Program
8 Session/16 hour Program
In other words, a couple may receive 16 hours of marriage and family enhancement skills over the course of one weekend in a retreat setting or 16 hours in 8 sessions over the course of 8 weeks (1.5 to 2 hours session per week) depending upon the format that best meets their current needs and preferences.
Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program for Couples in Recovery
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program teaches the following effective skills for couples when one of its members is in recovery for substance abuse:
Parents and other caring adults who are able to resist negative influences, communicate effectively, manage personal and family conflict, process and respectfully express their emotions to others, and reach out for help with hope and trust are in a great position to maintain long-term successful recovery. These adults can, and often report that they do, teach these same powerful life skills to their children and other youth in their lives. In this way, these recovery skills can be passed from one generation to another, and operate simultaneously as substance abuse recovery support for recovering adults and substance abuse prevention for youth.
Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program for Couples Reentering the Community from Incarceration
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program openly embraces and gently addresses many of the most critical concerns and challenges faced by the reentry population, including reconnecting with family and children, responding effectively to a variety of pressures from work, family, friends and others, and managing the deep gulf of painful emotions like guilt, shame, fear and powerlessness that often comes with making a “whole-life” shift from prison to the community.
Couples are provided the opportunity to complete exercises and practice skills specifically designed to:
Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program with Couples Reentering the Community after Military Deployment or Any Other Form of Physical or Emotional Separation
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program is designed to assist couples in gently, lovingly and respectfully reintegrating into their family systems after periods of military deployment or any other form of physical or emotional separation. Anytime a parent reenters the home after a temporary or prolonged absence (i.e., military service, illness, education, job assignment, etc) there may be challenges with communication, bonding, establishing or reestablishing healthy relationships, negotiating expectations and consequences, expressing and processing emotions, and more. The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program includes modules specifically designed to help couples learn the skills of creating and sustaining loving, deeply respectful and long-term healthy relationships with spouses, significant others and other members of the family.
Advanced Options for Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program
The CLFC Marriage Enhancement Program can be supplemented with the adult Getting Real module or the adult Developing Positive Parental Influences module for a more comprehensive program for increased relationship, recovery and health.
Children can also receive the youth CLFC modules. See chart below:
If you are interested in implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program, please call or email COPES at (502) 583-6820 or tstrader@sprynet.com.
The original, award-winning Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC) curriculum is listed on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. This original version was adapted by the CLFC program developer, Ted N. Strader, to specifically address stresses within a marriage when one of its members is in recovery for substance abuse, incarcerated or reentering the community after a period of incarceration, military service, or any other form of physical or emotional separation.
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program helps couples to develop a variety of skills married partners find useful in establishing or re-establishing family harmony. Topics include marriage enrichment, effective communication, refusal and conflict resolution skills, using positive parenting techniques, and encouraging other responsible and healthy attitudes and behaviors.
Components of the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program
Couples are provided the opportunity to complete exercise and practice skills specifically designed to:
In a quasi-experimental research study with a comparison group conducted by Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and McGuire & Associates, the adapted version of CLFC also achieved statistically significant improvements in all 9 of the following targeted measures:
In addition to the quasi-experimental research study, respondents to module-specific CLFC retrospective surveys analyzed by McGuire & Associates showed the following promising results:
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program is offered in 2 Flexible Formats:
Weekend Retreat/16 hour Program
8 Session/16 hour Program
In other words, a couple may receive 16 hours of marriage and family enhancement skills over the course of one weekend in a retreat setting or 16 hours in 8 sessions over the course of 8 weeks (1.5 to 2 hours session per week) depending upon the format that best meets their current needs and preferences.
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Marriage Enhancement Program Testimonials
“I have been thoroughly impressed with the Healthy Marriage classes presented by COPES. This is a learning tool that has helped me and my partner to both continue to grow and be ourselves. I would strongly recommend this class to anyone who hasn’t had the chance to deal with COPES programs before. The staff and personnel were wonderful. I’m glad that I joined the class.”
– Landon P.
“I believe that the COPES Healthy Marriage Program is a very positive & useful program to help couples individually and collectively to establish or re-establish a positive foundation in their relationships.”
– Navada P.
“I learned how to listen and talk to my wife! God Bless!!”
– Lawrence P.
“We feel that this class has helped us tremendously. We can now express ourselves or one another without fighting and we now argue fairly. We also learned a lot about ourselves as individuals. We learned about our past and how that applies to our daily lives and relationships.”
– Tenica & Max
If you are interested in this CLFC Marriage Enhancement Program, CLICK HERE.
The CLFC program developer, Ted N. Strader, adapted the original CLFC curriculum to specifically serve fathers who may be in recovery for substance abuse, incarcerated or reentering the community after a period of incarceration, military service, or any other form of physical or emotional separation. These adaptations have already demonstrated powerful empirical results in quasi-experimental design studies with comparison groups.
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program is a personal and family strengthening experience that addresses the following multiple challenging and interconnected issues: personal history of substance abuse (and recovery support); personal safety and violence prevention; sexual health including HIV and other STD prevention; and prison recidivism. The program employs a multi-faceted, strengths-based approach. The program also includes strategies to assist a parent in gaining deep insight in providing effective prevention practices for their children. This program is specifically designed to cultivate an atmosphere of inclusion, respect and cultural sensitivity for adult, at-risk, male audiences traditionally considered to be somewhat resistant and difficult to recruit and retain in a program of significant scope and duration.
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program includes the original three (multi-session) adult facilitator-led, group-learning Creating Lasting Family Connections® modules, “Developing Positive Parental Influences”, “Raising Resilient Youth”, “Getting Real”, and a brief new optional module on HIV and other sexually transmitted disease prevention and sexual health which includes voluntary and confidential HIV testing.
Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program with Fathers in Recovery
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program teaches the following effective skills for fathers recovering from substance abuse:
Parents and other caring adults who are able to resist negative influences, communicate effectively, manage personal and family conflict, process and respectfully express their emotions to others, and reach out for help with hope and trust are in a great position to maintain long-term successful recovery. These adults can, and often report that they do, teach these same powerful life skills to their children and other youth in their lives. In this way, these recovery skills can be passed from one generation to another, and operate simultaneously as substance abuse recovery support for recovering adults and substance abuse prevention for youth.
Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program with Fathers Reentering the Community from Incarceration
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program openly embraces and gently addresses many of the most critical concerns and challenges faced by the reentry population, including reconnecting with family and children, responding effectively to a variety of pressures from work, family, friends and others, and managing the deep gulf of painful emotions like guilt, shame, fear and powerlessness that often comes with making a “whole-life” shift from prison to the community.
Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program with Fathers Reentering the Community after Military Service or Any Other Form of Physical or Emotional Separation
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program is designed to assist fathers in gently, lovingly and respectfully reintegrating into their family systems after periods of military leave or any other form of physical or emotional separation. Anytime a parent reenters the home after a temporary or prolonged absence (i.e., military service, illness, education, job assignment, sabbatical, etc) there may be challenges with communication, bonding, establishing or reestablishing healthy relationships, negotiating expectations and consequences, expressing and processing emotions, and more. The Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program includes modules that can help fathers learn the skills of creating and sustaining loving, respectful and long-term healthy relationships with every member of the family.
Advanced Options for Implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program: Family Reintegration.
Fathers who complete the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program can supplement their learning by participating in the CLFC Marriage Enhancement Program with their significant other for an even deeper investment in their own successful reintegration, recovery and health. Their children could also participate in the CLFC youth modules.
After completing the entire Fatherhood Program some individuals engage in the following options:
If you are interested in implementing the Creating Lasting Family Connections® Fatherhood Program: Family Reintegration, call or email COPES at (502) 583-6820 or tstrader@sprynet.com.
Creating Lasting Family Connections® in Both Prevention and Treatment Settings
By Ted N. Strader and Teresa A. Boyd
This article was first written for a 2002 National Prevention Network Conference presentation by Ted Strader & Teresa Boyd. It was first published in the 2002 NPN Conference Compendium. © Copyrighted by COPES, Inc. July 2002. Last updated in 2011.
The original Creating Lasting Family Connections® program has demonstrated results in reducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use, delaying onset of ATOD use, and reducing uncontrolled and violent behavior with youth. The original program has been recognized as an effective evidence-based program by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the U.S. Department of Education, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the International Youth Foundation, and is listed on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
The original Creating Lasting Family Connections® program consists of 6 modules. The parent modules are: “Developing Positive Parental Influences”, “Raising Resilient Youth” and “Getting Real”. The 3 youth modules are: “Developing a Positive Response”, “Developing Independence and Responsibility”, and “Getting Real”. Each of the 3 individual parent trainings is a 5-6 session module with each session lasting from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours depending on breaks and possibly including a meal. Each of the individual youth trainings is a 5-6 session module with sessions lasting 1 to 2-1/2 hours in length again depending on snacks, breaks and/or a meal being provided. (Sometimes it is very helpful for recruitment if families are provided meals in conjunction with the program.) An optional Parent and Youth combined “Getting Real” session usually requires an additional two or three sessions.
For maximum effectiveness, parents and youth are each involved simultaneously in their own separate three-module track lasting for 15 to 18 sessions.
The original Creating Lasting Family Connections® program is designed to be implemented in a diverse variety of settings. This program has demonstrated results with universal, selected and indicated populations.
Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC’s) program developer specifically adapted the original version to serve the special populations of substance abuse recovery, prison reentry, fatherhood and healthy marriage. In quasi-experimental research studies with comparison groups, these adaptations have demonstrated strong statistically significant results in increasing critical fatherhood and relationship skills and drastically reducing prison recidivism.
Below we have outlined a number of different options for implementing the original CLFC program and the more recent, adapted versions.
Parent and Youth Training Module Description
Each of the parent training modules listed above ordinarily lasts about 5 or 6 weeks, with a single weekly 1.5 – 2.5-hour session (depending on availability of breaks and/or meals). Each of the youth training modules listed above lasts about 5 or 6 weeks, with a single 1.5-hour session per week. The optional parent and youth combined Getting Real communications training usually requires an additional two or three meetings (with each meeting lasting 2 to 2.5-hours). Therefore the complete original CLFC program runs anywhere from 14 – 20 sessions. We have found the trainings to be most effective when parents and youth are engaged in all six training modules consecutively and simultaneously. The trainers may present the modules in any order desired, but when implementing the modules with both parents and youth participants, it is important to pair the matching parent and youth modules.
Of the youth training components, Developing a Positive Response is designed to help youth build a foundation for making appropriate life decisions about ATOD use. The Developing a Positive Response training helps youth become aware of their deepest wishes for their own person health regarding alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, their relationships with their peers and family members, and their own yearning for success.
The next youth training component, Developing Independence and Responsibility, focuses on youth’s current level of responsibility within their family life, with an eye toward developing personal responsibility and independence for adulthood. This training exposes young people to the potential responsibility and independence they will have in the future. It is designed to motivate them to develop the skills necessary to succeed. It also helps young people to become more sensitive to the responsibilities their own parents currently face.
The third youth training component, Getting Real, is designed to help participants to understand a variety of universal communication styles, to recognize their own personal styles of communication, and to establish new and highly effective patterns of interaction with family members and peers that incorporate refusal skills, self-awareness, appropriate levels of trust and mutual respect.
For parents and other caring adults, there are also three separate training components. The first training, Developing Positive Parental Influences, is provided separate from, but simultaneously with, the youth training, Developing a Positive Response. In Developing Positive Parental Influences, parents and other caring adults are trained to effectively influence youth regarding a wide range of alcohol and drug issues through greater awareness of personal and cultural facts and feelings about alcohol and other drugs, as well as a greater understanding of intervention, referral procedures, and treatment options.
The next training component for parents and other adults, Raising Resilient Youth, is designed to enhance parents and other adults’ abilities to develop and implement effective expectations and consequences for youth in all areas of concern, including alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. The goal of this component is to help parents and caring adults see the value of having youth participate in setting effective and appropriate expectations and consequences. This tends to encourage dialogue and bonding between adult and child.
The third adult training module is the Getting Real Communications Training, which parallels the youth Getting Real Communications Training. Finally, as shown in the diagram, parents and youth come together in a combined Parent and Youth Getting Real Training. This is an important component because it allows the youth and adults to come together to both demonstrate and practice the skills they have already learned among their own peers.
School-based Options
In addition to the standard option, Creating Lasting Family Connections® has school-based implementation options, in which students (typically sixth to ninth graders) can complete the youth modules during the course of one school year or over the course of three school years. In the school-based implementation option, the parents of the students can be involved in the matching parent/adult modules during evening hours at the same time of year that students are receiving their version of the youth modules during school hours.
Figure 2 below shows the school-based options. This implementation option is similar to the community-based standard option (see Figure 1) except that it focuses on sixth to ninth graders. This option can be implemented either with parents and youth, or with youth only. The program can be implemented either over the course of a single school year or over three school years. The actual division of grades in which the modules are implemented depends upon the organizational structure of the school system involved.
Other Options for Partial Implementation
Further, we have other options that acknowledge that in some situations either the parent/adult training components or the youth training components can be implemented without the other. For example, the parent training components (only) option might be used either for a group of parents or as training for social workers, youth service providers, or other adults who work with youth. Training these “impactors” can increase an agency’s ability to reach a large number of youth in a variety of settings. Similarly, the youth training components (only) option may be viable in either school settings or other organizational settings where parent participation may not be likely.
Many professional agencies enjoy tailoring their choices of CLFC modules for special populations and their families. For example, chemical dependency treatment centers often use selected modules for individuals and their families to address the intergenerational aspects of chemical dependency. We will review those options later in this paper.
Youth Trainings (only)
Fidelity and Flexibility
While a high fidelity CLFC implementation would involve using the complete standard implementation option or the complete school based option, plus community mobilization and case management, this is not always possible or even desirable at the community level. A medium fidelity CLFC implementation might include the parent and youth training without case management services. A low fidelity implementation of CLFC might include only certain portions of the parent and/or youth training components.
Also, when choosing the level of fidelity to implement the CLFC program, it is important to understand that choosing a low fidelity level of implementation of CLFC does not necessarily mean the effort is no longer evidence-based. Instead, it simply refers to the concept that the implementation varies to a certain degree from the manner in which the original researched program was implemented. Later we will discuss why it is sometimes a better decision to go with a less than “high fidelity” replication in the real world.
We at COPES have come to the realization that it is important for agencies and organizations that want to implement evidence-based prevention programs like ours to have flexibility in selecting specific training modules to be used and how to structure the overall program implementation. For example, an organization or community may want to implement some additional prevention services in conjunction with those currently provided because a needs assessment has revealed some newly recognized risk and/or protective factors that have not been previously addressed. While some prevention programming is already in place, there are some noticeable gaps.
In a review of the CLFC targeted outcomes, the community leaders are excited about how CLFC addresses these key new issues. Yet, they also recognize some overlap because they are already successfully using an existing ATOD prevention program. In such cases, it may be beneficial for the community to continue using the existing ATOD prevention program, and combine it with other certain modules from CLFC in order to establish a more comprehensive prevention program for their community. Combining their existing prevention modules with several from CLFC not only creates a more comprehensive approach, it reinforces respect for the community investment in programs that they already see as their own. This is consistent with our primary belief that it is important in prevention efforts to take advantage of the strengths already present in a community.
It is critically important to note, however, that any training module or other component used with CLFC must be compatible in its general premises in order to avoid contradictory messages. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate two ways in which communities might integrate CLFC material into their existing prevention efforts. In the sample Figure 5, we will assume an agency has been using their own curriculum called “Cool Cats Don’t Use”. We will also assume upon review that this curriculum is quite compatible in concept, philosophy, and structure with CLFC programming. Rather than stop using “Cool Cats Don’t Use”, the agency might well want to supplement this effort with the remaining CLFC curriculum models in the shaded boxes. This can lead to very positive feelings among the agency or school personnel already using it. This can reduce resistance and strongly supplement an existing effort. Further, the program can be easily evaluated using the CLFC evaluation kit.
In sample Figure 6 below, a very different program design, the “Cat City Community-Wide Environmental Change” component, and two “Cool Cats” curriculums, the ATOD related “Cool Cats Don’t Use” and the “Cool Cat’s Skills for Life” Curriculum can be supplemented with the CLFC parent and youth communications training components. This again provides for a nice integration and a much more comprehensive approach. Further, the research in the field supports multiple prevention strategies with multiple opportunities across multiple domains in order to achieve results.
Next, Figure 7 below demonstrates one way chemical dependency treatment agencies are using the CLFC curriculum with families involved in recovery programs. Note how the recovering parent focuses on detox and early recovery before CLFC is initiated.
In Figure 8 below, notice how the CLFC curriculum can also be used as part of an intervention or a recovery program. Developing Positive Parental Influences is often used for intervention training for all concerned persons prior to a family being involved in treatment. Next, treatment may be followed by other CLFC components as aftercare and providing prevention with their children. Finally, it is our belief that these types of implementation options by design really increase the ability of local providers to do an effective job in balancing all of the intricate issues of local ownership, integration of evidence-based programs and practices, and maintaining costs. In the next section we will examine a number of other issues that impact the implementation of any curriculum model.
Evaluation
The original CLFC program provides two options for evaluation. The first, is an evaluation kit designed to measure the effectiveness of the CLFC replications. This kit is based on the evaluation design and findings of the original CLC demonstration project. The CLFC evaluation kit is a comprehensive guide for measuring specific outcomes related to CLFC. The kit includes self-administered surveys for both youth and parents, the psychometric property scales in the surveys, survey administration and scoring guidelines, parent consent forms, and contact information for technical assistance on evaluating CLFC. The second evaluation option is a retrospective, post-test only version. This is a much more “user-friendly” means of assessing program outcomes with less complexity and scientific rigor required.
Issues That Impact Implementation
Staff Training and Technical Assistance Issues (See also CLFC National Training and Certification System)
Most curriculum developers face tough decisions regarding cost and quality control issues. With the CLFC curriculum series, training and technical assistance are not required, yet training is strongly recommended. Agencies interested in implementing any version of the CLFC curriculum are encouraged to complete a readiness assessment survey designed to determine the appropriate level of training needed.
Upon completion of surveys, the instrument is scored by comparing actual responses with desired responses. COPES’ staff then discusses these scores with the program manager considering CLFC training and negotiates a meaningful training plan by viewing training needs, training budget, schedules, and agency commitment. Typically a choice is made somewhere between a two-day training for a single module, a one-week training for the full curriculum, or a maximum of a two-week training for the program training and consultation (Most agencies find one-week of training sufficient). In addition to our 5- and 10-day training plans, we often provide customized trainings for groups on site that last 3, 4, 6, 8, or 9 days, based on results of the survey, the agency director’s discretion, or the agency budget.
For agencies who want to send staff to Louisville for training, the cost is $750 per person per week of training. The agency must also budget for staff travel, lodging and per diem. For custom, on-site training the cost can vary from as little as $1,500 per day depending on the number of trainers needed and their level of experience. The most commonly purchased CLFC onsite training service brings two CLFC Master Trainers to your local agency for $7,500.00 plus travel and expenses. In this case the agency must also budget for the trainer’s travel, lodging and $50.00 per day per diem.
Further, Master Trainer Training is available to staff who have already been certified as CLFC Implementation Trainers and who have successfully completed at least one implementation with positive results. Successful implementation familiarizes staff with the challenges involved in providing the CLFC program. This experience provides opportunity for both personal and professional growth, which are essential characteristics of a Master Trainer.
Once these steps are completed, staff can apply for the Master Trainer’s course or arrange with COPES to participate as a co-trainer with the CLFC developer. (Note: The Master Trainer certification process is similar in format to the CLFC Implementation Training, and includes multiple simulated training activities. This training examines implementation options, fidelity issues, advanced facilitator tips, guidelines for instructor certification, and tips on addressing implementation issues and challenges often presented by participants who are being trained to implement CLFC.)
Once certified, CLFC Master Trainers are empowered to conduct CLFC Implementation Training for their “home” agencies, and are also eligible to receive contracts from COPES to train others. These contracts from COPES enable staff or an agency to receive an honorarium for training conducted ($150 per day or more), plus travel and per diem expenses. The cost for becoming a Certified Master Trainer ranges from $0 to $2500 depending on staff’s availability, our experience with staff in the instructor certification training, demonstration of knowledge of the CLFC program, personality, and trainer characteristics that we believe are essential. Master Trainers on an agency’s staff can greatly reduce long-term training costs for an agency. Further, highly regarded Master Trainers can produce meaningful income for either themselves or their agency.
Training and technical assistance issues involve both dollars and staff time. Curriculum designers must find a balance between materials cost, training cost, training time and the need for quality control. It can be difficult, but it is important to recognize and describe the range of budgets that can truly be realistic for replicating any program. Grant writers often fail to create a realistic budget. At COPES, we often assist grant writers to create a realistic narrative and budget at the time of application at no charge. We do this because it increases our success in developing strong replications.
See also CLFC National Training and Certification System
Differing Target Populations: Cultural Sensitivity
The design of Creating Lasting Family Connections® is to draw on the “human experience” rather than to focus on any individual experience. Yet, the authors recognize that there are still limitations based on individual and cultural experiences. Therefore, the authors engineered cultural input from the targeted population by creating the Community Advocate Team (CAT) component as part of the community mobilization design. The CAT is expected to assist with “building a two-way bridge of understanding and acceptance between the participant population and the facilitator(s)” by teaching the program facilitators about the local cultural issues. This unique design feature has proved to be indispensable in overcoming cultural, social, and related differences between (and among) facilitators and participants. For a more detailed explanation of the CAT, please refer to pages 20, 86, and 87 in Building Healthy Individuals, Families, and Communities: Creating Lasting Connections published by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers (Strader, Ted N., Collins, David C., and Noe, Tim D., 2000).
The Key to Duplicating CLFC Results in Your Community
Considerable research indicates that implementations of research models are likely to obtain similar results as the original studies when the program implementation is conducted with fidelity. The concept of fidelity refers to clarity in mirroring the original program design and implementation processes. Because this can be a fairly challenging task, CLFC provides a free fidelity instrument for those wishing to monitor and measure the integrity of their implementation.
Program managers and program evaluators will find the CLFC Fidelity Instrument a useful tool both in planning and following program implementation fidelity. This instrument can be used by program managers prior to implementation as a guide for staff to insure quality replication. Evaluators can utilize this tool in measuring the program fidelity during program implementation observation. Assessments of curriculum implementation will help program managers, staff and funding providers recognize and provide effective quality assurance measures during CLFC implementation.
Strategies to Assess Fidelity
The ideal approach to assessing fidelity is to have one or two observers who are trained and certified in CLFC implementation to observe your CLFC sessions and help you to determine where and how you may be departing from the curriculum. Another approach is to review the CLFC program or process being provided against this portion of the fidelity instrument. Many agencies provide opportunities for training teams to give each other feedback during CLFC implementation again using the CLFC Fidelity Instrument as a guide for reference. For more information contact a CLFC representative at COPES, Inc.
To download the Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC) Fidelity Instrument, click here.
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| KEY: Youth Modules: DPR = Developing a Positive Response; DIR = Developing Independence & Responsibility; GR = Getting Real | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent Modules: DPPI = Developing Positive Parental Influences; RRY = Raising Resilient Youth; GR = Getting Real | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domain: Community | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| KEY: Youth Modules: DPR = Developing a Positive Response; DIR = Developing Independence & Responsibility; GR = Getting Real | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent Modules: DPPI = Developing Positive Parental Influences; RRY = Raising Resilient Youth; GR = Getting Real | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domain: School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| KEY: Youth Modules: DPR = Developing a Positive Response; DIR = Developing Independence & Responsibility; GR = Getting Real | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent Modules: DPPI = Developing Positive Parental Influences; RRY = Raising Resilient Youth; GR = Getting Real |
Agencies in almost all 50 states are using COPES’ programs or materials. Below is a partial list of those implementing our widely acclaimed CLFC curriculum.
NATIONAL REPLICATION CITIES:
The Creating Lasting Family Connections program has been replicated in the following locations:
| Bessemer, AL | Radcliff, KY | Norman, OK | |||
| Birmingham, AL | Slade, KY | Woodward, OK | |||
| Pine Bluff, AL | Baton Rouge, LA | Coquille, OR | |||
| Saginaw, AL | Covington, LA | North Bend, OR | |||
| Yakutat, AK | Luling, LA | Bradford, PA | |||
| DeQueen, AR | Mandeville, LA | Claysville, PA | |||
| Fayetteville, AR | Lowell, MA | Doylestown, PA | |||
| Little Rock, AR | South Hamilton, MA | Farrell, PA | |||
| Pine Bluff, AR | Wenham, MA | Kittanning, PA | |||
| Russellville, AR | Baltimore, MD | Mercer, PA | |||
| Texarkansas, AR | Cambridge, MD | Reading, PA | |||
| Tucson, AZ | Cumberland, MD | Sharon, PA | |||
| Antioch, CA | Randallstown, MD | Williamsport, PA | |||
| Danville, CA | Rockville, MD | Pawtucket, RI | |||
| Martinez, CA | Bar Harbor, ME | Providence, RI | |||
| Oakland, CA | Perry, ME | Warwick, RI | |||
| Pleasant Hill, CA | Alpena, MI | Greenville, SC | |||
| Richmond, CA | Detroit, MI | Jackson, TN | |||
| Sacramento, CA | Jackson, MI | Memphis, TN | |||
| San Pablo, CA | Rudyard, MI | Arasnos Pass, TX | |||
| Craig, CO | Albert Lea, MN | Arlington, TX | |||
| Denver, CO | Minneapolis, MN | Austin, TX | |||
| Steamboat Springs, CO | St Paul, MN | Conroe, TX | |||
| Enfield, CT | Walker, MN | Corsicana, TX | |||
| New Britain, CT | Columbia, MO | Cuero, TX | |||
| South Norwalk, CT | Kansas City, MO | Dallas, TX | |||
| Westport, CT | Moberly, MO | Del Rio, TX | |||
| Dover, DE | Paris, MO | El Paso, TX | |||
| New Castle, DE | St. Louis, MO | Floydada, TX | |||
| Wilmington, DE | Greenwood, MS | Ft Worth, TX | |||
| District of Columbia (DC) | Meridian, MS | Garland TX | |||
| Bartow, FL | Yazoo City, MS | Grand Prairie, TX | |||
| Belle Glade, FL | Billings, MT | Harker Heights, TX | |||
| Clewiston, FL | Lincoln, NE | Houston, TX | |||
| Delray Beach, FL | Carson City, NV | Karnes City, TX | |||
| Eustis, FL | Fallon, NV | Laredo, TX | |||
| Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Las Vegas, NV | Longview, TX | |||
| LaBelle, FL | Pahrump, NV | New Braunfels, TX | |||
| Lake Worth, FL | Reno, NV | Pfaar, TX | |||
| Miami, FL | Keene, NH | Rio Grande, TX | |||
| New Port Richie, FL | Peterborough, NH | Tyler, TX | |||
| Palatka, FL | Washington, NJ | Wichita Falls, TX | |||
| Tallahassee, FL | Deming, NM | Alexandria, VA | |||
| West Palm Beach, FL | Farmington, NM | Arlington, VA | |||
| Claxton, GA | Las Cruces, NM | Buckingham, VA | |||
| Conyers, GA | Mountainair, NM | Chesapeake, VA | |||
| Hapeville, GA | Roswell, NM | Covington, VA | |||
| Lawrenceville, GA | Buffalo, NY | Emporia, VA | |||
| Milledgeville, GA | Kingston, NY | Fairfax, VA | |||
| Snellville, GA | Watertown, NY | Gloucester, VA | |||
| Indianola, IA | Asheville, NC | Lawrenceville, VA | |||
| Decatur, IL | Gastonia, NC | Lynchburg, VA | |||
| Madison, IL | Greenville, NC | Martinsville, VA | |||
| Lafayette, IN | Jacksonville, NC | Norfolk, VA | |||
| Kansas City, KS | Raleigh, NC | North Tazewell, VA� | |||
| Albany, KY | West End, NC | Richmond, VA | |||
| Beattyville, KY | Winston Salem, NC | Virginia Beach, VA | |||
| Burna, KY | Athens, OH | Christiansted, USVI | |||
| Cloverport, KY | Bucyrus, OH | Barre, VT | |||
| Florence, KY | Dayton, OH | Montpellier, VT | |||
| Hartford, KY | Mt. Gilead, OH | Northfield, VT | |||
| Hazard, KY | Newark, OH | South Burlington, VT | |||
| Lebanon, KY | Sparta, OH | Seattle, WA | |||
| Louisville, KY | Dustin, OK | Washougal, WA | |||
| Martin, KY | Durant, OK | Madison, WI | |||
| Maysville, KY | El Reno, OK | Milwaukee, WI | |||
| Morehead, KY | Eufaola, OK | Union Grove, WI | |||
| Owensboro, KY | Henryetta, OK | Chugwater, WY | |||
| Paducah, KY | Locust Grove, OK | Douglas, WY | |||
| Princeton, KY | Muskogee, OK | Wheatland, WY | |||
KEYPOINTS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL CLFC PROGRAM
CLFC is modular in design. There are six distinct training modules, Developing Positive Parental Influences (adult ATOD training), Developing a Positive Response (youth ATOD training), Raising Resilient Youth (parent enhancement training), Developing Independence and Responsibility (youth Responsibility training) and Getting Real Communications Training (which can be conducted for adults and youth, or combined parents and youth). The modular design allows portions of our program to be implemented along with your already existing programs or it can be implemented as a comprehensive model as a complete package. The program is also separated into three parent and three youth components and each of these sub units can also be implemented separately if desired.
This design allows your trainers to determine the needs of the clients they serve and implement the program in a variety of ways that will ensure their clients stay interested and have their needs met.
Therefore, the program was designed so the prevention professionals can add or drop parts of this program in order to use what works best for the population they are serving.
This program was designed to be implemented within schools, communities, churches, and/or community organizations collectively or individually. This flexibility is a major advantage to agencies which already have serious prevention efforts in place. Our individual components can be added to increase the number of life domains already addressed by existing prevention efforts in already active communities.
MATERIALS AND COSTS
COPES will send you a free information packet that has a copy of the four published journal articles. These articles clearly describe the scientific findings of this program. The COPES information packet is written in such a way that grant writers can take our information and plug it directly into a grant. We have a “logic model” which specifically outlines the scientific design. This information is free of charge and is available by calling COPES at (502) 583-6820. Also available is a video that discusses our program and gives some information that you can share with your co-workers/executive director/ whoever else may be interested in this program. This video is priced at $29.95 and can be mailed out along with your information package and a bill.
Curriculum package cost is regularly $1125.
Included in this price is the following:
This program has an evaluation package available for purchase separately. The evaluation instruments are designed so that you can have your own evaluators do the evaluation of your implementation of this program or you have the option of having our COPES evaluation team assist with evaluation under a separate contract. This evaluation package is priced at only $300.00.
Implementation training is available from the developer. For more information about this model program, including evaluation, training, or grant writing assistance, please call:
Ted N. Strader
(502) 583-6820 COPES, Inc.
The rest of this page addresses the kinds of questions we often receive from those interested in our program. We suggest you review the questions listed below and select any for an immediate response.
Just click on any question (e.g. Q 1 etc) and check out the answer!!
Q 1 How do we know that the Creating Lasting Family Connections® program is effective?
Q 2 If I implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®, how can I measure whether my implementation is successful?
Q 3 What are the main differences between Creating Lasting Family Connections® and the earlier Creating Lasting Connections?
Q 4 How does Creating Lasting Family Connections® achieve involvement of parents?
Q 5 How does CLFC achieve involvement of youth?
Q 6 You have noted that how one defines community is a key to successfully implementing prevention programs. What does this mean for an organization that is interested in implementing Creating Lasting Family Connections®?
Q 7 What does it take to be a good trainer for Creating Lasting Family Connections®?
Q 8 Having discussed characteristics of a good trainer for CLFC, how do you assess a potential trainers’ skills and qualities to implement the program? What training do you offer them based on your assessment?
Q 9 You discussed what makes a good trainer, but what about community advocate teams? What makes a good team? A good team member?
Q 10 In the standard implementation of CLFC, what is the optimum group size for the training for parents? For youth?
Q 11 What training materials are available for those who want to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®? What other materials (such as implementation handbooks) do you recommend?
Q 12 What if my organization wants to write a grant for funding to implement Creating Lasting Family Connections®? Can COPES assist us in this?
Q 13 What is the average cost for implementing Creating Lasting Family Connections®?
Q 14 What generally is involved in the Creating Lasting Family Connections® implementation training?
Q 15 Does completion of the CLFC implementation training qualify a trainer to train others who are interested in implementing the CLFC program in other communities?
Q 16 Your Creating Lasting Family Connections® program appears to go pretty deep. Is this therapy?
Q 17 Do you think most grass-roots facilitators are qualified to become Creating Lasting Family Connections®’ trainers and take on such a deep and powerful role?
Q 18 Your training seems very sophisticated. How well does it work with uneducated or economically disadvantaged families?
Q 19 How do you make your training culturally relevant for minority populations?
Q 20 Violence is a big issue right now. How does your program target violence prevention?
Q 21 What are some common problems people encounter when using your program?
Q 22 Okay, I’m convinced your program is the greatest thing since sliced bread. How can I convince my boss or the other community leaders to purchase and implement your program?
Q 23 What if I think of other questions about CLFC later?
Call or email COPES at (502) 583-6820 or tstrader@sprynet.com.
Our Strongest Performing Product
The Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC) program is our strongest performing product both in terms of gaining empirical results and market distribution. The original CLFC is a structured curriculum for youth ages 9-17 and their parents, guardians, and other family members to improve their ability to provide a nurturing environment for each other in a very effective and meaningful way. Participating youth and adults are encouraged to improve their personal growth through increasing self-awareness, expression of feelings, interpersonal communication, and self-disclosure. Participants are taught social skills, refusal skills, and appropriate knowledge and healthy beliefs about alcohol and drugs, which provide a strong defense against environmental risk factors that can lead to negative outcomes for youth. The original CLFC program also provides parents and other caring adults with family management, family enhancement, and communications training. All participants are provided opportunities to practice these skills in a safe, peer-group setting.
The original CLFC curriculum has now been specifically adapted by the program developer to serve the special adult populations of substance abuse recovery, prison reentry, fatherhood and healthy marriage.
The Anatomy of CLFC
The original Creating Lasting Family Connections® program consists of 6 modules. The parent modules are: “Developing Positive Parental Influences”, “Raising Resilient Youth” and “Getting Real”. The 3 youth modules are: “Developing a Positive Response”, “Developing Independence and Responsibility”, and “Getting Real”. Each of the 3 individual parent trainings is a 5-6 session module with each session lasting from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours depending on breaks and the possibility of including a meal. Each of the individual youth trainings is a 5-6 session module with sessions lasting 1 to 2-1/2 hours in length, again depending on snacks, breaks and/or a meal being provided. (Sometimes it is very helpful for recruitment if families are provided meals in conjunction with the program.) An optional Parent and Youth combined “Getting Real” session usually requires an additional two or three sessions.
For maximum effectiveness, parents and youth are each involved simultaneously in their own separate three-module track lasting for 15 to 18 sessions.
CLFC Produces Results in Multiple Areas
Over the past 30 + years, the Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC) curriculum series has demonstrated an ability to produce powerful results with multiple populations including:
The CLFC curriculum series is a 4-time winner of the Exemplary Award (1995, 1999, 2000 and 2010) and has been recognized as an effective evidence-based program by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (2007, 2013 and 2017), Administration for Children and Families’ Responsible Fatherhood Initiative (2006), Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (2002), featured as an Exemplary Program by Health Canada’s Preventing Substance Use Problems Among Young People: A Compendium of Best Practices (2001), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (1996), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2006), the U.S. Department of Education (2000), the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (2001), and the International Youth Foundation (2000). See full list of Awards.
CLFC’s Protective “Shield” against Risk Factors for Youth and Adults
The CLFC program provides adults and youth with strong defenses against environmental risk factors by teaching appropriate skills for personal growth, family enhancement, and interpersonal communication, including refusal skills for both parents and youth.
The CLFC curriculum has demonstrated effectiveness in its ability to:
The original CLFC curriculum was also designed to increase the following specific resiliency factors:
Youth
Family
Appropriate expectations and consequences
Community
School
Click on the link below for a detailed chart of CLFC as it relates to the 40 Developmental Assets.
CLFC and the 40 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS*
Implementing the complete original CLFC model involves:
How to Implement CLFC with Full Effectiveness
We have found the original CLFC curricula to be most effective in impacting substance abuse prevention for youth when parents and youth are engaged in all six training modules consecutively and simultaneously. The trainers may present the modules in any order desired, but when implementing the modules with both parents and youth participants, it is important to pair the matching parent and youth modules.
The original CLFC curriculum is designed for youth 9 to 17 years old and their families. The populations that participated in the evaluations were primarily African American, Caucasian, or of mixed ethnicity; were 11-15 years of age; and lived in rural, suburban, or urban settings. The program has been implemented in 50 states and a number of other countries with a variety of populations, including African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native Americans. CLFC has been successfully implemented in schools, faith communities, recreation centers, community settings, juvenile justice facilities, and other settings.
The Original CLFC Program has also been specifically adapted by the program developer for individuals and couples who may be in recovery for substance abuse, incarcerated or reentering the community after a period of incarceration, military service, or any other form of physical or emotional separation. These two innovative adaptations have been reviewed and are now listed on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
Elements of High-Fidelity Replication
For a high-fidelity replication of CLFC, at least two part-time facilitators are needed for each of the parent and youth modules. After the recruitment phase, these four part-time facilitators can work with up to 18-20 families, 1 day per week, 4 hours per day, for the duration of the 18-20 week program. A minimum of two facilitators for each group is strongly recommended because a team approach significantly enhances the group learning experience and is likely to increase the participants’ positive response to the program.
Launching the CLFC Program
Program startup may take from 1 to 3 months, and typically includes:
CLFC in all 50 States
This program is currently in use in all 50 states across the nation in schools, recreation centers, health centers, churches, community centers, juvenile justice facilities, and other service sites. Out of popular demand, the entire CLFC curriculum package is now available in Spanish. Click here to see a sample of CLFC implementations around the county.
The Original CLFC Program has been adapted specifically to increase skills that mothers, fathers, couples and families find useful in preparing for marriage, establishing or re-establishing strong family harmony and supporting single or married adult men and women who may be in recovery for substance abuse, incarcerated or reentering the community after a period of incarceration, military service, or any other form of physical or emotional separation. See links below:
Creating Lasting Family Connections Fatherhood Program: Family Reintegration (This program has achieved published results with both male and female populations in gender-specific groupings. The materials are simply labeled as Creating Lasting Family Connections to avoid any gender bias or confusion for participants.)
Creating Lasting Family Connections Marriage Enhancement Program (This program is designed for couples in committed relationships regardless of marital status or gender representation within couples.)
