STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES
Regardless of culture or geographic location, the family is the primary social unit and foundation of every society on earth.
To have strong communities, we must start by building strong, close family relationships.
Civilization depends on parents raising emotionally healthy, responsible children who will grow up to be the next generation of adults.
Because of this, parenting is the most important job in the world—and it is not easy!
THE PROGRAM
Despite our diverse cultures and different parenting practices, styles, and traditions, research shows that there are some basic principles that parents can practice in their everyday lives that have been shown to strengthen families and make a positive impact on a child's development and future well-being.
...And, incidentally, these principles could already be found in God's Word, the Bible, for generations!
Strengthening Communities and Families (SCFP) is a research and evidence-based family skills training program that includes wisdom from the Bible. The 18 lessons are designed to help improve family communication and develop positive social skills so that parents and children have closer family relationships. This also helps children stay free from addictions and other delinquent behavior, which improves their quality of life and, in turn, strengthens society.
THE RESEARCH
Research has shown that there are both risk factors and protective factors that can influence a child to either harm or protect them from the negative influences in their lives.
Strengthening Communities and Families works to minimize the risk factors in a child's life and increase their protective factors. This helps to build their personal resilience against the problems in their lives and increases the chances that they won't resort to using alcohol or other drugs to cope with their problems.
Each lesson is based on research about what makes a healthy child. Every concept included has a purpose.
The protective skills taught in the 18 lessons fit into the categories of:
- Bonding and connection
- Boundaries and family management
- Monitoring and self-regulation
By balancing these three elements, along with wisdom from God's word, parents can provide both the nurturing and the structure necessary for children to thrive socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and spiritually.
MATERIALS FOR LEARNING
Strengthening Communities and Families provides separate lessons for parents, teens, and children. The different classes all have their own separate set of curriculum. Each set contains 3 books: The teaching manual and teaching aid pages for the instructor to use, and the lesson handout book for the participants. There is also a separate Family Group Manual with ideas for a family activity to do after the parent/teen/child groups meet.
DID YOU KNOW?
- If a child makes it to age 21 without smoking, drinking alcohol, or using other drugs, he or she will likely never become addicted—which shows that it is mainly an adolescent problem that can be prevented. (CASA –National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University)
- A child’s peers are the #1 greatest risk factor in whether they will experiment with tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
- Research shows that the strongest protective factor in a child's life is the family, which includes a close relationship with a caring, responsive adult.
- Parents who bond and connect with their kids, set healthy boundaries, and monitor their activities can help prevent most teen drug and alcohol abuse, allowing them to grow up with happier family relationships and brighter futures.
RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
There are both risk factors and protective factors that can contribute to harming or protecting youth from substance abuse and other delinquent behaviors.
Risk factors have the potential to harm children and make it more likely that they will choose to use tobacco, alcohol, and other harmful drugs. Protective factors help prevent substance abuse. The risk factors are the areas that we need to try to minimize in our children’s lives as much as possible.
SCFP International seeks to minimize the risk factors in a child’s life and increase their protective factors. This helps to build a child’s personal resiliency against potential problems in their lives and increases the chances that they won’t resort to using alcohol or other drugs to cope with their problems. Most importantly, it is Scripture-based, and points them to a personal relationship with Jesus to help them cope with their problems.
The four major areas of influence in a child’s life which can be sources of harm or protection are their:
- Society & Community
- Peers/Friends
- Family
- Individual personality
