Good Practices
Programme emphasising a comprehensive approach: Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC).
Name of Program:
Creating Lasting Family connections (CLFC).
Target Population:
CLFC was developed for use in universal, selective, and indicated populations and is currently in use throughout the United States with all three populations. The Creating Lasting Family Connections Implementation Training is designed to assist trainers to recognize how to adjust the implementation for effectiveness with selective and indicated populations.
Setting:
CLFC is designed to be implemented through any community system, such as churches, schools, recreation centers, and court-referred settings, which have significant contact with parents and youth, which have existing social outreach programs, and which have links with other human service providers. This program has been proven effective in urban, suburban, and rural communities, many of which have been multi-ethnic in composition.
Theoretical Basis:
The CLFC program is based on Risk and Resiliency Theory with an emphasis on strengthening the resilience factors for youth, their families, and their communities. (For a complete description of the CLFC theoretical basis see pages 11-17, in Strader, T., Collins, D., & Noe, T. (2000). Building Healthy Individuals, Families, and Communities, Creating Lasting Connections. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.) This book is available through the developer.
Program Description:
Focus:
Alcohol and other drug use and abuse, and violence prevention
Goals:
Training and early intervention will increase family resilience of parents and youth and the ATOD use and violence reduction results will be sustained through follow-up services. Use of alcohol and other drugs will be delayed or reduced by youths in the program group after individual youth, family, and community resilience increases following the training and early intervention program.
Objectives:
| Long-Term Objectives | Resiliency Factors Targeted | Intermediate Objectives | Intervention Components |
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Youth:
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Community:
Family:
Youth:
School:
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Community:
Family:
Youth:
School
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Community:
Parent:
Youth:
School:
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Activities/Process:
Combination of interactive instructional training and skill building for both parents and youth; encouragement to improve personal growth for both parents and youth; highly interactive social and refusal skills training for both parents and youth; highly interactive practice in communication skills for both parents and youth; social support for both parents and youth; desirable alternative activities are provided for both parents and youth.
Content:
Family (parent /guardian) and Youth Training.
The figure below illustrates the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model. Prior to trainings, an optional CLFC Community Mobilization Module can increase recruitment and retention of parents and youth.
Each of the individual parent trainings above is a 5-6 week module (2.5 hours a week.) Each of the individual youth trainings is a 5-6 week module (1.5 to 2 hours in length). The optional Parent and Youth Combined "Getting Real" sessions usually require an additional two or three (2.5 hours) meetings.
For maximum effectiveness, parents, and youth are engaged in all six modules consecutively and simultaneously. The CLFC program is designed with the following different implementation options: The modules (parent and youth) can be spread out on a longer period based on participant and provider needs. This can prove to be very beneficial because not all families are able to commit to a 15- to 18- week program. They can participate in 5-week increments spread throughout the period of a year. The parent trainings can be offered without the youth trainings (individually, consecutively, or collectively spread throughout the period of a year.) The youth trainings can be offered without the parent trainings (individually, consecutively, or collectively spread throughout the period of a year.)
Follow-up Services:
Families can receive up to 5 consultations with a case manager for counseling and referral services if necessary. Follow-up or case management services consist of telephone consultations or personal home visits for developing treatment or referral plans (as needed) are provided for 6 months after the training.
Contact Time:
From as few as 5 sessions for any single module for up to 18 weeks for parents and youth for 2.5 hours per week.
Leader Type and Training Provided:
Completion of the CLFC Assessment Survey will help guide decisions about training needs. The assessment score provides a good measure of the amount and type of training needed by the potential trainers (results may also indicate that no training is necessary). Program publishers then discuss these scores with anyone who is considering training and negotiate a meaningful training plan by considering training needs, training budget, schedules, and agency commitment. A primary consideration is the experience level of those to be trained. Main training options are a Five Day Course (for those with moderate levels of experience in prevention/facilitation) and a Ten Day Training Course (for potential trainers who are relatively new to prevention/facilitation). Contact publisher for more detail on training options.
Results:
The evaluation assessed program effects on family and youth outcomes using repeated measures and random assignment of families to a program or comparison group in five church communities. A brief summary of the published results:
Positive direct effects of the program (on family resiliency) included: ? Increases in knowledge and healthy beliefs about alcohol and other drug (AOD) information by parents ? Increased youth involvement in setting and following family AOD rules ? Increased use of needed community services by families
Positive direct effects of the program (on youth resiliency) included: ? Increased bonding with family members (parents) ? Increased leveling (honest and deep) communication ? Increased use of community services by youth
Positive moderating effects of the program on delay of onset and reduction in frequency of alcohol and other drug use by youth occurred:
As parents: ? Increased AOD knowledge and healthy beliefs ? Decreased conflict between parents and children ? Increased the likelihood of punishing youth for AOD use ? Used more community services for family problems ? Decreased family pathology ? Decreased parents' frequency of alcohol use
As youth: ? Increased leveling communication about AOD use ? Increased bonding with father ? Increased leveling communication about school work ? Used more community services for family problems
Other results include: ? 98% of parents and youth reported CLC to be a positive experience ? 77% of parents reported feeling better about themselves after the program ? 93% of youth reported feeling better about themselves after the program ? 99% of parents would recommend the program to friends
Reviewer's Comments:
The developer has written a book that clearly describes the program, its design, theoretical basis, and results. (See associated studies.) Further, the book provides illustrative sample exercises for anyone interested in a quick overview of the CLFC program. Finally, the book includes a section on most frequently asked questions regarding the program. The developer will send all research articles and a full information packet to interested participants at no charge. Developer provides a very colorful and informative website for interested parties at http://www.copes.org
In relation to prevention principles emphasized, the program focuses on family-based protective and risk factors, utilizes a comprehensive and systematic set of strategies, and gives concerted attention to recruiting and retaining families. The program is also designed to be flexible in order to create multicultural acceptance. A complete evaluation package has been created specifically for use with the CLFC program, and is available at a low cost.
Publisher's Comment:
Through COPES' experience of facilitating 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) Nonjudgmental, 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) Possesses a natural helping attitude; 6) Has experienced successful group oriented personal growth opportunities, including counseling, spiritual development, self-help, or related activities; and 7) Able to recognize, name and express feelings as they occur.
Resources Needed:
Curriculum 5 Training Manuals, set of 25 participant notebooks for all 5 trainings, and 5 poster sets, individual curriculum manuals
Additional Materials include: CLFC Program Evaluation Kit, Trainer Assessment Survey, Fidelity Instrument, Additional Notebooks, Community Mobilization Manual, CLFC Implementation Manual
*(Note: A Special discount will be given to prospective consumers who learn about the CLFC program through the Canadian Centre of Substance Abuse and the Compendium of Youth Substance Use Problem Prevention Programs publication.)
Program Costs ($US):
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 that includes all six modules and a Community Mobilization process. The following information may be helpful in determining implementation costs for a particular 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.)
Staff:
Ted N. Strader, Exec. Dir., or Teresa Boyd,
CLFC Coordinator
COPES, Inc. (Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc.)
845 Barret Avenue
Louisville, KY 40204
Telephone: (502) 583-6820
Fax number: (502) 583-6832
E-mail address: tstrader@sprynet.com
Web site: http://www.copes.org
Funding:
Funding for the original research project titled Creating Lasting Connections (CLC) was granted from CSAP (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention) High Risk Youth Grant (SPO 1279) from 1989 till 1995. The Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC) was created in 1998, and is self-sustaining.
Year Program Established:
Research Model, 1989 (CLC)
Diffusion Model, Creating Lasting Connections, 1998 (CLFC)
Associated Studies:
Creating Lasting Family Connections, (CLFC is the Dissemination Model)
Strader, T., Collins, D., & Noe, T. (2000). Building Healthy Individuals, Families, and Communities, Creating Lasting Connections. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Creating Lasting Connections (CLC was the research, prototype model)
Johnson, K., Strader, T., Berbaum, M., Bryant, D., Bucholtz, G., Collins, D., & Noe, T. (1996). Reducing alcohol and other drug use by strengthening community, family, and youth resiliency: An evaluation of the creating lasting connections program. Journal of Adolescent Research, 11(1): 36-67.
Strader, T., Collins, D., Noe, T., & Johnson, K. (1997). Mobilizing church communities for alcohol and other drug abuse prevention through the use of volunteer church advocate teams. The Journal of Volunteer Administration, 15(2): 16-29.
Johnson, K., Bryant, D.,Collins, D., Noe, T., Strader, T., & Berbaum, M. (1998). Preventing and reducing alcohol and other drug use among high-risk youths by increasing family resilience. Social Work, 43(4): 297-308.
Johnson, K., Noe, T., Collins, D., Strader, T., & Bucholtz, G. (2000). Mobilizing church communities to prevent alcohol and other drug abuse: A model strategy and its evaluation. Journal of Community Practice, 7(2): 1-27.
Contact:
COPES, Inc.
Ted N. Strader, M.S.
Executive Director
845 Barret Avenue
Louisville, KY 40204
Telephone: (502) 583-6820
Fax number: (502) 583-6832
E-mail address: tstrader@sprynet.com
Web site: http://www.copes.org
Source:
G. Roberts, et al., (2001). Preventing Substance Use Problems: A Compendium of Best Practices. Health Canada.