Summary description of the FAMILY WELLNESS PROGRAM

Transcription

1 Summary descriptin f the FAMILY WELLNESS PROGRAM Family Wellness is a quickly learned and easily adapted prgram, which has prven effective in a variety f cmmunities, cultures, and languages. It is currently used fr preventin and interventin in the areas f dmestic vilence, drug, alchl, and child abuse. Sme additinal applicatins are fr teen parents, fr Stepfamilies, fr Saturday schl students, fr families in gang neighbrhds, fr teaching cnflict reslutin skills t yuth and families, fr family preservatin prgrams, in chaplaincy prgrams, in hspital settings, as well as fr parents wh want t get back in charge f their children and their lives. Sme infrmatin abut the curse The basic: "Survival Skills fr Healthy Families" is a twelve hur Family Wellness prgram presented t large grups f families and individuals in a series f six tw-hur sessins: Parents in Healthy Families Children in Healthy Families Adult Relatinships-Cuples in Healthy Families As Children Grw-Change in Healthy Families Slving Family Prblems Sex, Drugs, and Yu-Passing n Yur Values t Yur Children Each sessin is rganized arund practical guidelines fr healthy family interactins, which are demnstrated and then practiced with the participants. There are ver 1,500 trained instructrs presenting this curse t ver 1,000,000 families in the past twenty ne years. The curse is a prven mdel fr teaching skills, enhancing healthy family interactins, and investing family members in each ther and their cmmunity. Benefits The Family Wellness Prgram has specific benefits fr a variety f settings: 1. A Structure that prvides fcus and skills fr cunselrs and agency persnnel. 2. Effective Preventin: Stps prblems befre they start. 3. Prvides supprtive structure fr families with the additinal stresses f drugs and f vilence in the cmmunity. 4. Packaged and easily implemented prgram fr targeted ppulatins. 5. Fcus n management f children and strnger cuple s relatinships. 6. Meets legal and prgram requirements fr curt rdered abuse cases (spusal, child, and drug/alchl abuse). 7. Gives parents skills and supprt fr managing their children. 8. Prvides a supprtive prgram fr family members t acquire skills fr managing their lives and building health in their families.

2 9. Trains cunselrs, teachers, clergy, and supprt persnnel wh have the credibility in their particular cmmunity r setting t prvide the skills n site. 10. Prvides a framewrk and skills fr interactive teaching thrugh the use f rle-play. 11. Gives cunselrs, clergy, agency staff, and schl persnnel the skills and practice t wrk effectively with difficult yuth and family situatins. 12. Additinally, lcal Law Enfrcement benefit (as indicated in San Jse) frm lwer truancy and burglary in gang neighbrhds resulting frm strnger families where kids are managed by their parents. Family Wellness takes grups f individuals and families and gives them the skills, supprt, and practice t build n their existing healthy patterns and add new ways f living and wrking tgether. The curse, which was develped in 1980, represents tw interests: First: Our belief that in rder fr families t reclaim their pivtal rle in prviding fr the health f their members, they need new tls and supprts t handle the challenges in ur present sciety. Secnd: Our wish t translate the knwledge and skills f family therapy int a readily available and effective prgram t help families. Histry Develped in 1980 by Virginia Sctt and Gerge Dub, the "Survival Skills" curse riginally was presented in varius rural and urban settings using schl and cmmunity sites thrughut Santa Cruz and Santa Clara cunties in Califrnia. One f the first series was presented in Spanish and English in Watsnville, Ca. Sme f these first curses were targeted fr teen parents in high schls, Spanish-speaking grups, and at-risk families in East San Jse. Currently, the "Survival Skills" curse is presented thrughut the United States and in several ther cuntries. Taiwan has a Family Wellness Center and has translated the interactive wrkbk; El Salvadr has purchased Instructr manuals and wrkbks; Puert Ric, Canada, Hng Kng, France, England, Australia and Germany have dne the same. Applicatins Family Wellness is being used by Native American, Latin, African American, Vietnamese, Cambdian, Hmng, Latian, Chinese, and Filipin cmmunities. Family Life Educatrs and scial wrkers in the Military use Family Wellness t help families develp stability as well as t treat dmestic vilence and child abuse cases. Scial Services use this mdel fr Family Preservatin, as well as Child abuse preventin and interventin fr Curt rdered parenting. Schls use Family Wellness t strengthen families t be better partners fr the success f their children, t prvide parents with skills t slve prblems, and t meet parental invlvement guidelines frm varius states. Churches use the curriculum in family and yuth ministries. Family Wellness has als been used in gang neighbrhds t strengthen families and parent invlvement with their children. Law enfrcement has paid fr curses in cnjunctin with their TABS (Truancy Abatement, Burglary Suppressin prgrams. When families attend the curses and parents are invlved with their children, there is better schl attendance and fewer burglaries. Other cmmunity agencies use Family Wellness t get parents invlved with the kids and mentrs f like ages t prevent pregnancy amng teenagers. Sme extensive use f the Family Wellness mdel, has ccurred in the fllwing ppulatins/areas: 1. Clvis Unified in Fresn Cunty, Califrnia has used the Survival Skills curse and curriculum t prvide parental invlvement and skill building fr each f its ver twenty eight schls annually ver the past five years. They present curses fr pre-schl families thrugh high schl students, and fr alternative schls as well as Saturday schls. An additinal curriculum fr Wellness in the Classrm was develped t assist teachers and administratrs. Clvis Unified trained supprtive service persnnel -hspital, prbatin, scial services, and fster hmes- in rder t better serve their cmmunity. Over eight Hmng and six Vietnamese instructrs are nw trained.

3 2. The Native American cmmunity has made extensive use f the Family Wellness mdel fr family strengthening, drug and alchl abuse preventin and child abuse preventin. The Cmmunity Calitin fr the Washe Natin in Ren, Nevada has been using the curriculum ver fur years. The Indian Center in San Jse, Califrnia is using Survival Skills t supprt its families ver the past seven years. The Navaj Natin f the Fur Crners area has recently had training fr prfessinal and cmmunity leaders t use the curse in a variety f settings. 3. The San Jse Plice Department has been funding Family Wellness curses in its "High burglary" areas as part f its "Truancy abatement, burglary suppressin" prgram fr ver 9 years. It is their belief that after attending a Wellness curse, parents manage their children better. The City f San Jse has als invested in a "Jump Start" versin f Family Wellness because it was fund that direct gang interventin was nt enugh t change gang activities in neighbrhds. S curses are taught in these neighbrhds t strengthen the rle f parents and their cnnectin with their children. 4. The Santa Clara Cunty Scial Services Agency is currently using Family Wellness as its Family Educatin prgram in Spanish and English fr its Family Preservatin effrts. The Juvenile and Family Curts in Santa Clara Cunty rder families t Wellness Curses fr abuse preventin and interventin. Instructrs Because f ur interest t supprt families thrughut the cmmunity, a special emphasis has been placed n training instructrs and presenting curses that respect the ethnicity and culture f the participants. Over the past fifteen years, we have trained ver 1,500 instructrs t present ur mdel: Hispanic, Vietnamese, Hmng, Japanese, La, African-American, Native American, and Caucasian. Their mst cmmn prfessins are: teachers, principals, cunselrs, psychlgists, psychiatrists, parents, prbatin fficers, chaplains, clergy frm mre than ten different denminatins, scial wrkers, nurses, family life educatrs, and cmmunity leaders. Teaching the Curse The particular effectiveness f the Survival Skills curse in wrking with families f all incme and educatinal levels and varius cultures cmes frm nine key elements f the prgram: 1. Instructrs chsen t fit the particular- cmmunity, language and experience needs--e.g. Hispanic, r single parent, r blended family. 2. Lcatins chsen that supprt families and prvide n-ging "teamwrk" with parents such as schls r churches. 3. Family participatin-all members frm children thrugh extended family and supprt systems are invited and attend the series. Because all family members cntribute t the health and the wrking f a family, skills and cncepts are taught allwing each member f the family t understand and use them. 4. Simple rules that capture basic thery and put it in wrds and cncepts that make it memrable and usable fr families and individuals. 5. Dramatic Rle-Play f real family situatins, prblems, and ways f wrking thrugh prblems that make the cntent believable and applicable. Drama captures the attentin and interest f mst participants because it appraches their varius learning mdalities-visual, auditry, and kinesthetic, thrugh its prtrayal f real life. 6. Caching f family members in their wn real-life "stuck" places r prblem areas. Participants are brught up frnt t play ut their usual ways f handling a particular issue r prblem, then given new ptins and caching t help the ptins wrk. This reinfrces new ways f behaving bth fr the individual and the audience, fr example: hw t get the behavir yu want frm a child withut being abusive r using physical punishment; r hw t switch frm reinfrcing arguing with a partner r child by demnstratin f hw t stick t ne subject, say what yu want, and build n what wrks. 7. Visual Aids that reinfrce what is taught and give clear simple anchrs fr participants t learn the thery and skills. 8. Exercises that reinfrce the cntent and skills with supprt and the "truths" that participants have t share with each ther

4 9. Materials that reinfrce the cntent and skills with activities, interactive exercises, and vide and auditapes that present the series with exercises fr hme use r with a facilitatr Resurces The Survival Skills Wrkbk is currently in English, Spanish, and Chinese, and is being prepared fr a Sutheast Asian translatin. This interactive wrkbk has summaries f the thery and exercises that fit fr varius family members by age and rle. The six sessin Vide Sets fr the Survival Series curse prvides reinfrcement f the curse r the pprtunity fr a cmmunity leader, clergy, r schl leader t facilitate the series, using the tapes. Sme schls and veterans' centers prvide the tapes fr checkut and hme use. An Instructrs Manual teaches the thery, presenting skills and a step by step presentatin with bjectives, thery and strategies r ways t present each sessin's cntent, A Videtape n Caching fr instructrs and therapists that teaches and demnstrates caching f participants t teach skills. A laminated full size series f flip charts in Spanish and English which capture the main thery and cntent fr each sessin. A set f verhead transparencies the same as the Flip Charts, als available n disk/cd fr PwerPint. Practical handuts fr each sessin fr the participants in English r Spanish. Special Adaptatins f the curriculum fr specific target grups, i.e., Scripture based, Families f At Risk Yuth, Families Impacted by Dmestic Vilence, Stepfamilies etc. A published bk, Raising a Lving Family, Evaluatin 'The Family Wellness Survival Skills curse has been taught fr ver eighteen years. Subjective data was gathered at each presentatin ver the years and gives substance t the effectiveness f the curse in the wrds f thusands f participants In 1986 Paul Giblan cnducted a meta-analysis f sme 85 studies f pre-marital, marital and family enrichment prgrams t evaluate the empirical evidence frm 3886 participants, His findings supprt all f the structure and skills taught by Family Wellness: behaviral rehearsal; caching and rle play; c-leadership; twelve hurs in ttal length; cmmunicatins skills including prblem-slving techniques. Sme specific research includes: 1. The first study dne by the Drug and Alchl Abuse Preventin prject in Santa Cruz utilized a befre and after and fllw-up study which included the Ms Family Envirnment Scale. This study indicated thrugh a six mnth fllw-up phne evaluatin that mre than 70% f the participants (60 called) cntinued t experience imprved cmmunicatins skills; ver 35% indicated reduced r eliminated drug use, 80% cnsidered the family t be "clser"; and 25% felt that the family was slving prblems better. 2. Several studies were cnducted at the Alum Rck Cunseling Center in the 1990's using the Family Adaptability and Chesin Evaluatin Scales (FACES III, develped by Olsn, Prtner, and Lavee in 1985). Thrugh a sampling f pre and pst tests, it was cncluded that families generally felt mre cnnected, individuals reprted feeling mre flexible and less structured, and the educatinal wrkshp apprach des seem t prmte healthier functining in a11 family types. 3. Natural Bridges Schl in Santa Cruz in 1987 cntracted fr a series at the schl, specifically targeting families where the parents were nt invlved and the children were habitually truant and their behavir was causing prblems fr the staff. Fr this series, eight sessins were presented and the schl staff met nce a mnth fr an hur t get specific skills and cnsultatin fr wrking with families. The principal f the schl recruited ver 100 parents fr the series, saying, "I've gt them here, nw it's up t yu t keep them." The grup remained essentially intact, and the results were increased parental invlvement at the schl,

5 significantly imprved student attendance, and a decrease in behaviral prblems. Significantly supprting these results, fr example, in 1990 the parent grup cntracted with Family Wellness Assciates t present a series in the new multipurpse building that their grup had been able t build, thanks t their develpment as a parents supprt grup fr the schl. We hpe this gives yu sme idea f what ur curse prvides and its variety f uses. We knw that Family Wellness wrks in cmmunity and schl settings. We are nt able t teach ur curse by distance learning, but in additin t ur pre-scheduled training sites, we will arrange training when 10 r mre peple in an area are interested. Please cntact ur ffice if yu wuld like additinal infrmatin abut training r resurces fr families and instructrs. Gerge T. Dub, M.Div, MFT (831) (Office) Ana Mrante, LMFT (408) (Office) Erin Simile, LMFT (919) (Office) Mike Simile (919) (Office) Je Hernandez, PhD (209) (Office) Michelle Hernandez (209) (Office)