The Strengthening Families Program lessons were created on a National Institutes of Health research grant by Dr. Karol Kupfer and associates. The objective of the grant was to find out what skills parents needed to help keep their children safe from the harms of alcohol and drug use while their brains were still developing. It was discovered that parent-training alone was insufficient, that their children needed life and refusal skills training as well, and that parents and children needed to practice the skills together during class. The SFP parenting and youth life-skills training proved to be effective in reducing multiple risk factors for youth drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency, and depression. Families report being happier and having less conflict at home.
Using documented evaluation tools, the original Strengthening Families Program lessons have been tested and evaluated in non-experimental and quasi-experimental studies with families in 17 countries; and in randomized control trials (RCTs) in nine countries (United States, Canada, Australia, UK, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Thailand) with different cultural groups by independent evaluators. SFP family relationship classes teach universal skills, and are taught in 50 US states and 30 other countries.
The updated SFP lessons (SFP 7-17) are available in curriculum form (with PowerPoints and video clips), as a Home-Use video series, and now in this Online gamified version. They are distributed through the Strengthening Families Program LLC, with training available for SFP Family Coaches, and the 501(c)(3) non-profit Strengthening Families Foundation. For more information contact Jaynie Brown at strengtheningfamiliesprogram1@gmail.com.