NCJ Number
150728
Date Published
1994
Length
49 pages
Annotation
This coordinator's handbook and accompanying parent education videotapes and pamphlets are intended for use in planning and implementing an in-home program designed to assist families of elementary school children in taking a more informed and active role in preventing tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use and other problem behavior in their children.
Abstract
The program requires little time and focuses on helping parents identify and act upon crucial factors known to contribute to experimentation and use of drugs. The first video, intended for parents of third graders, consists of 20 yes- no questions, to which parents and guardians are asked to respond on a score sheet and then score at the conclusion of the video. The total score provides an immediate assessment of whether their family is low, moderate, or high risk for their children's involvement in tobacco, alcohol, or other drug use. Suggestions are given for further action based on the scoring. The second unit, titled Parenting Principles, provides parents of fourth graders with solution-oriented actions parents to take to reduce the risk that their children will engage in destructive behavior. The video depicts give episodes dealing with common family situations, provides options for each situation, asks the viewer to determine the best option, and explains why one option is most effective. The third unit, intended for parents of fifth graders, focuses on methods of preventing children from becoming alienated and disconnected from their family, with emphasis on the family meeting. The coordinator's manual provides forms, a sample letter to parents, and step-by-step instructions for conducting a program; it also summarizes evaluation results from the program's use in 29 elementary schools in one district