Strengthening Families

Graphic including the Strengthening Families Program jocogov.org/strengtheningfamiles A family skill building curriculum that teaches parenting, life & family skills, includes a family meal each week, incorporates informal practice time, lasts 14 weeks
Father and son posing for a picture at Strengthening Family Program

The Strengthening Families Program is a family skill building program found to significantly improve parenting skills and family relationships, reduce problem behaviors, delinquency and alcohol and drug abuse in children and to improve social competencies and school performance.
 

The parent skills portion includes:

  • appropriate developmental expectations
  • interacting positively with children
  • positive family communication
  • facilitate family meetings
  • effective and consistent discipline
     

The child skills portion includes:

  • communication skills to improve parents, peers, and teacher relationships resilience skills
  • problems solving and dealing with criticism
  • feeling identification
  • anger management and coping skills

The family skills portion includes parents and children practicing what they learned in their individual sessions in experiential exercises. This is also a time for the group leaders to coach and encourage family members for improvements in parent/child interactions.

Agencies

Faith Partners

  • First Baptist Church of Overland Park 
  • Overland Park Church of the Nazarene 
  • First Baptist Church of Gardner 
  • Faith Journey Church 
  • Pathway Community Church 
  • Christ the Servant 
  • Redemption Church 
  • Heartland Community Church 
  • Christ Community Church 
  • First Presbyterian Church of Gardner 
  • First Light Church 
  • Fellowship Bible Church 
  • Lenexa United Methodist Church 

Opportunities to Get Involved 

For more information on how to get involved, contact jcmhcinfo@jocogov.org, or call 913-715-7880. 

 

For more information, you can visit strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org

Site Hosts

  • Provide a physical location to host SFP for 14 weeks
  • Help with set up/clean up
  • Large space for eating/family time (tables & chairs)
  • Different classrooms for breakout groups including classroom style set up with tables and chairs (Number of rooms depends on how many age groups a cohort has. Minimum of two rooms)
  • Space to serve food (a kitchen is very helpful, but not required)
  • Basic kitchen utensils (helpful, but not required)
  • Access to bathrooms
  • A place to store 1-2 bins of craft supplies, etc.
  • Access to the building by 5pm and someone to lock up afterwards (around 9:30pm)
  • List of things the church wants to be put away at the end of the night
  • Accessible parking
  • Childcare room, if needed 

Facilitators

  • Have an interest or experience working with children and families
  • Facilitate, with a partner, weekly group sessions with either parents, teens, or children
  • Attend SFP training (Date TBD)
  • Facilitate, with a partner, family group sessions for 3 or 4 weeks of the session
  • Attend planning meetings as needed
  • Attend weekly follow up meeting for 30 min after the program each night
  • Submit to background check

Site coordinators

  • All Site Coordinators must be wiling to attend weekly follow up meeting for 30 minutes after each weekly session
  • Attend planning sessions
  • Here’s a list of some of the Site Coordinator responsibilities:
    • Individual coordinates overall logistics of SFP
    • Coordination of Church Calendar and Facility Needs
    • Childcare Coordination & Scheduling
    • Meal Coordination & Scheduling
    • Facilitator & Curriculum Coordination
    • Communicating with Families
    • Coordinate Thank You Notes
    • Coordinate Incentives Program
    • Graduation
    • Coordinate Family Sessions
    • Evaluations

Donating a meal

  • Typically meals provided include a main dish, a couple of sides(including a vegetable) and a dessert and serve approximately 50-70 people
  • Approximately $250 is adequate to cover one meal

Monetary donation

  • Meals
  • Incentives
  • Graduation
  • Items for families