Families And Schools Together (FAST)

This is a multifamily program to support parents of children with challenging behaviors. The goal is to promote child protection and development through parenting skills training and support group participation.
The participating family is referred to the program by a school professional, who moderates the meetings along with a clinical social worker and a substance use prevention counselor. In the first two months of the program, the parent group meets weekly at the school, and in the following two years meetings are held monthly.

Impact evaluations

According to impact evaluation studies, program participants showed a statistically significant reduction in externalizing behavior problems, such as aggression [1] [2], and some improvement in social skills [2], school performance [1], functioning, adaptability, and family cohesion [3]. No significant effects on internalizing behaviors, such as anxiety and depression, were observed in the students who participated in the program [3].

Bibliographic reference

[1] McDonald, L., Moberg, D. P., Brown, R., Rodriguez-Espiricueta, I., Flores, N. I., Burke, M. P. & Coov, G. (2006). After-School Multifamily Groups: A Randomized Controlled Trial Involving Low-Income, Urban, Latino Children. Children & Schools, 28(1), 25–34. https://dropoutprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Study3-Mexican…

[2] Kratochwill, T. R., McDonald, L., Levin, J. R., Young Bear-Tibbetts, H. & Demaray, M. K. (2004). Families and Schools Together: An experimental analysis of a parent-mediated multi-family group program for American Indian children. Journal of School Psychology, 42(5), 359–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2004.08.001

[3] Kratochwill, T. R., McDonald, L., Levin, J. R., Scalia, P. A. & Coover, G. (2009). Families and Schools Together: An experimental study of multi-family support groups for children at risk. Journal of School Psychology, 47(4), 245–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2009.03.001

Information source

Crime Solutions