FAQ's
Question: Has Parent To Parent been "evaluated".
Answer: Yes and by the most critical "evaluator" available, the long-term Marketplace.
We are now in our nineteenth year of working with schools, churches, synagogues, private schools and public schools, jails, military and corporations to help them help families deal with The Toxic Culture.
We have in excess of 4000 client agencies.
Parent-To-Parent is a Training Program. not an Educational Program. As a training program, we are interested in their long-term behavior. what will they do over time. as opposed to their knowledge. what did they know at a point in time. Educational Programs can be easily evaluated with a pre-test/post test methodology. which, in our opinion, proves not very much in the long run. For example people "know" that smoking causes cancer . yet millions continue to. smoke. People know that seat belts save lives. yet many refuse to use them.
Long term behavior is what matters.
On a more practical level, our clients have a range of funding sources most of whom have their own evaluation criteria. It is impossible for us to credibly produce "evaluations" which meet the needs of these diverse agencies. We have therefore left the evaluation issue in the hands of our client organizations.
One of these Agencies, The Onandoga County Drug and Alcohol Commission In Syracuse New York reported that, as a result of their Parent-To-Parent program:
* 89% of participants had a greater understanding of their role in preventing drug and alcohol use by their children.
* 91% changed the way they communicated with their children.
* 75% became more involved in community efforts aimed at alcohol or drugs.
* 91% talk more often with their children about drugs.
* 85% increased contact with parents of their children's friends.
O'Keefe, A. (1998). Participant Views on the Parent-to-Parent Program. Prepared for the Onondaga County Drug and Alcohol Commission.
It is important to note that results in Syracuse, NY are no indicator of the results to be expected in other communities.
Question: Is Parent-To-Parent a religious program?
Answer: Yes and No. Our use of the "parent facilitator" and our flexible training model provide the presenting organization with the ability to tailor the sessions to the needs and interests of the audience. It is the presenting organization that sets the agenda and the environment. not us.
Our clients consist of Public Schools, Private Schools, Parochial Schools, Churches, Jewish Community Centers, Community Groups, Medical Schools, Corporations, Treatment Programs and Prisons. We believe that client mix speaks for the power and flexibility of our training model.
The real answer is "that is up to you".
Question: How do I get the parents to "turn out"?
Answer: In small groups and over time.
Most organizations have difficulty because they rely on the "big event" model. A special week, a dynamic speaker, a campaign. These are event driven and have a short term impact.
Our training model implements a process... not an event. It starts with a single class of ten or so people. When that class is finished, the leader/facilitator recruits from its graduates a couple of new folks to be trained as Facilitators and who will agree to teach at least one more class... to their friends.
When that next class graduates, more facilitators are recruited from their ranks. These new facilitators also agree to host one class among their friends. A group in Spartanburg, SC has reached over 10,000 parents by training over 500 facilitators.
We provide the same "friendship circle" model that has been so successful in marketing items like Tupperware, Amway Products, and illicit drugs. It is:
Peer Driven
- Person To Person
- Friend To Friend
- Many People Doing A Little Bit...as opposed to a few doing a lot.
- For more insights, download our free Implementation Manual by clicking here.
Question: How do we reach the parents that "need it the most?"
Answer: The parents that need Parent-To-Parent the "most" are those that do not have "the problem". Parent-To-Parent is designed as a prevention program... its intent is to help keep healthy families healthy... in some cases, to help them protect their child from the parents that do have "the problem."
This is not to say that Parent-To-Parent cannot be used to help unhealthy families. It can and is being used to do so. In the case of these parents, the "facilitation" should be done by a trained professional... not an "ordinary" parent/facilitator.
Question: How important are the Parent Review Books for each class participants?
Answer: They are very important. This Book is for the class participants to read and fill out during the meetings and retain for future reference. In the back of each book is an audio CD for them to keep for home study or to share with absent family members. The CD feature is KEY in reaching the entire family by allowing the class attendees hold "family meetings". This will penetrate multiple layers of each family and make Parent-To-Parent much more powerful. Educating their Spheres of Influence helps create the desired environment each parent strives for. We designed the new version of Parent-To-Parent with this objective in mind.
This conviction is rooted in several basic realities:
Reality 1: If the parent cannot remember what is taught in the live workshop, they cannot possibly put the ideas into practice when they get home. The Parent Review Book, workbook plus audio CD, enables them to recreate the experience in the privacy of their home or car. on demand... for years to come.
Reality 2: In many, if not most cases, only one spouse/parent will attend the live workshop, the Parent Review Book provides the ability for the participating parent to "facilitate" the workshop for the non-attending parent. They will also do that for a friend who may need help but doesn't know it yet.
Reality 3: People listen selectively. If the parent attends when their child is in the third grade, they will hear, see, and absorb from the perspective of a "third grade parent". When their child is in the eighth grade. five years later. they will experience the program from the perspective of their current situation. The Parent Review Book bridges both the time and life situation.
Reality 4: Study after study reveals that kids do better when their parents "talk" with them about the issues. The CD provides the parent with the ability to "facilitate" this critical discussion with their child in a non-threatening way. Play it in the car, pause at critical points, and ask the child what do you think about what Oliver just said? Do that and the parent is off and running without being seen as lecturing.
The Parent Review Book is the means for truly driving prevention home.
