Focus on Families

Focus on Families grew out of the collective experience of the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington and is based on the social development model of drug abuse. The social development model suggests that healthy development occurs when there are two basic conditions:

• A strong bond needs to exist between the person and other social units such as family, school, or the community. The bond consists of attachment to others within the unit, and a commitment to that social unit.
• Clear norms and expectations defining appropriate social behavior needs to exist. Strong bonds provide a reason to follow the norms. It is critical that bonding occurs with a social unit that has clear norms against drug use and other negative behaviors.

The Focus on Families program provides an eight to sixteen week curriculum that teaches parents in recovery parenting skills and relapse prevention techniques. The group consists of twice weekly meetings for 90 minutes per session. Participant’s children aged 4-14 attend several sessions with their parents so that parents can practice new parenting skills. The families learn skills from the following modules: Family Management, Communication Skills, Refusal Skills, and How to Succeed in School.