Familias Unidas – NNEDShare

The Program

Familias Unidas™ Preventive Intervention is a multilevel family-based intervention designed to engage Hispanic immigrant parents in an empowerment process that fosters healthy youth development among their children. The process first builds a strong parent-support network and then uses the network to increase knowledge of culturally relevant parenting, strengthen parenting skills, and apply these new skills in a series of activities designed to help their adolescent children respond effectively to the risks of substance use and unsafe sexual behaviors.

Intended Audience

This program is intended for adolescents aged 12 to 18.

Implementation

The program is also influenced by culturally specific models developed for Hispanic populations in the United States, and is delivered primarily through multi-parent groups, which aim to develop effective parenting skills, and family visits, during which parents are encouraged to apply those skills while interacting with their adolescent. The multi-parent groups, led by a trained facilitator, meet in 8 to 9 weekly 2-hour sessions for the duration of the intervention. Each group has 10 to 15 parents, with at least 1 parent from each participating family. Sessions include problem posing and participatory exercises. Group discussions aim to increase parents’ understanding of their role in protecting their adolescents from harm and to facilitate parental investment. The program also includes 4 to 10 1-hour family visits.

Outcomes

Lower substance use at 30 months post-baseline

Higher condom use among sexually active youth from 6 to 30 months post-baseline

Greater improvements in family functioning (e.g., parent-adolescent communication, positive parenting, and parental monitoring of peers).

Evidence

Familias Unidas is endorsed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Databases such as Blueprints for Health Youth Development, the California Evidence Based Clearing House for Child Welfare, and Crime Solutions recognize the program as promising and well supported by scientific evidence. Additionally, there are many peer-reviewed publications evaluating the program’s effectiveness.

Additional Resources