Project Details
An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Parent Support Groups
Description
The Office of Special Education Programs at the US Department of Education has provided funding for CFS staff to address one of the major challenges facing public schools today is the education of children who have emotional disturbances. When compared to children in other disability groups, it is these children who have the lowest grades, the lowest graduation rate, the poorest employment record; and after two years of separation from school, over 50% are involved in the criminal justice system.
The new project, An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Parent Support Groups, is a unique partnership between the Hillsborough Chapter of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, the Hillsborough County School District and the Department of Child and Family Studies. The goal of the project is to produce innovative strategies to support parents, enhance their collaboration with their child's school and teachers, and to improve outcomes for their children. This will be accomplished through the implementation of an effective parent support program that includes weekly parent to parent connections as well as periodic educational programs providing information about community resources.
CFS professors Drs. Albert Duchnowski and Krista Kutash will serve as co-principal investigators of the project. For the past 20 years, they have been conducting a coordinated series of research, training, and dissemination activities in the area of education and mental health services for children and families.
Family members from the Federation will be trained to implement family support and educational groups at selected schools in the Hillsborough County School District.The project will consist of a variety of activities that will reach the network interested in children and their families, including school personnel, parent advocacy groups, policy makers, mental health and social service providers and researchers. Dissemination products will range from family friendly manuals, workshops and presentations to articles published in scientific journals.