Strategy

Community-based parent education and support systems enhance parents' knowledge of

ways that they can support the development of their children. Through a focus on family
management, problem-solving skills, and referrals to other needed services, families
whose children are at risk can help those youth avoid future problems with delinquency.
Community Problem Addressed
Lack of family management and communication skills can make effective parenting
difficult. Communities that assist parents by providing education and training in
communication skills, and counseling services help those families transfer skills to their
children, possibly preventing delinquency and family violence.
Key Components
Local programs that adopt this strategy typically deliver a comprehensive array of
services, including parent-education classes in child development, skill building and
education enhancement programs for children, communication and family management
training, and counseling.
Key Partnerships
The most effective community programs using this strategy work in partnership with a
variety of social service agencies, including community-based, municipal, and county
agencies, to design programs and coordinate services for families. The program provider
also works with community groups to publicize the services and recruit families into the
program, using community newspapers and newsletters to advertise support available to
families. The programs are sometimes based in neighborhood centers in economically
deprived communities with crime problems related to family violence and delinquency.
The community organizations that deliver the services are often funded by a combination
of local government, community foundations, and corporate resources.
Potential Obstacles
Recruiting families into the programs can be difficult since those with serious
management problems and service needs are sometimes reluctant to seek assistance.
Many parents may resist the idea of others telling them how to raise their children.
Community-based newspapers, newsletters, public events, or schools can disseminate
information to educate parents about how services could be helpful to them. Another
challenge for program organizers is encouraging parents to take a hands-on role in
designing effective programs.
Examples of Success and Results

West Richland [population 7,000], is a small upper-middle class community in the south
central part of Washington. In 1997, the police department formed a citizens' advisory
committee that helps the department gauge the concerns of residents in order to help
community policing efforts. The committee found, through informal neighborhood
surveys and conversations, that one of the biggest concerns for most working parents was
proper parenting skills and communicating with teenagers.
Professionals in this community have a history of offering their services on a pro bono
basis, and a number of area psychologists and social workers volunteered their time to
offer parenting workshops to residents. These workshops have covered issues such as
diffusing power struggles between parents and youth and drug abuse education for
parents. Caseworkers who specialize in family disputes and county prosecutors have
presented on such legal issues as spanking and divorce. The local schools send students
home with fliers with information about the workshops (printed by the police department
at no cost), while the local paper and cable station publicize the workshops also at no
cost.
The program's workshops are held in the town's community center, a free resource to
residents. In partnership with the Drew Bledsoe Foundation (ex-resident of Washington
and current quarterback for the New England Patriots), the advisory committee uses the
video tapes of the foundation's Parenting with Dignity program, which stresses
communication between parents and children and shows parents how to teach and model
respectful behavior to their children. Surveys of participants reveal that a majority of the
workshop participants feel more comfortable disciplining their children without anger,
more willing to open the lines of communication with their teenagers, and do recommend
the workshops to other community members with children. Participation has more than
doubled since the first workshop and currently stands at 60 participants per workshop,
which are held four times a year. The advisory committee has received recognition from
the mayor for its efforts.