Fall 2004

Scroll down or choose an article from our Fall 2004 newsletter:

1200 Families Involved in FSP and Counting!!
Family Solutions Partners with School System
What I Have Learned in Family Solutions
Dr. William Quinn, FSP Executive Director, Writes Book on Family Solutions
Quotes from 2004 FSP Graduates

1200 Families Involved in FSP and Counting!!

The Family Solutions Program has expanded beyond its host site eleven years ago to many communities across the State of Georgia and the nation. In some juvenile courts the FSP is considered the intervention-of-choice for all juvenile first offenders. Schools are finding that the FSP builds a stronger home-school partnership and promotes regular and punctual attendance. The beneficial outcomes of the Family Solutions Program include a lower re-offense rate for juvenile first offenders compared to youth placed on probation or who are referred to FSP but drop-out, as well as higher family functioning and improved family communication, academic progress of youth, and increased hope and enthusiasm by families for their futures.

You will note in this newsletter the list of new communities who have initiated the FSP. Also in this newsletter you can find information about how your school, agency, or organization can implement the FSP in your community. As Jane Howard has said,

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”

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Family Solutions Partners with School System

Several schools have incorporated FSP within the last year to help families with
children who have school problems. These problems range from truancy and
tardiness, to behavioral and interpersonal difficulties. There is a substantial
compilation of research documenting the linkage between parent involvement in schools and academic success of children.

The FSP sessions focus on strengthening the home-school partnership; making education a vital aspect of the parenting role; establishing a home environment for learning and homework; learning skills for successful parent-teacher conferences; and becoming familiar with strategies for daily parent involvement in their children’s academic experience.

Research also demonstrates that early intervention to address school problems has a more likely chance of fostering academic success and behavioral improvement. Thus, our FSP services have targeted elementary and middle school students and their families.

The parents have found that the FSP meetings have helped them receive support and encouragement from each other, provide comfort in knowing that others face similar challenges in fostering educational success of their children, and that they have an avenue for providing input to the school on policies and procedures which provides parents a sense of partnership.

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What I Have Learned in Family Solutions

Written by Corinne Huggins*, UGA Student, FSP Intern

Only by default did I begin working as an intern for the Family Solutions Program. I needed an internship that allowed for work experience with adolescents. I walked in with a mindset to gain experience for my resume and to learn a few things about teenagers. I am now walking out with a suitcase of unforgettable memories and endless knowledge.
As one of my favorite past times, I record all of my worthwhile experiences and reflections in a personal journal. After working at Family Solutions for the past eight months, my journal entries have tripled in quantity and quality. Some entries discuss my emotions for certain group members, while others depict situations that caught my attention. When combined, each entry can be placed into at least one of the categories in the following list.

Families benefit highly from group intervention
Upon entering the first session, a majority of families seem to think that they are alone in their struggles. Through group discussion, they gain relief by witnessing similarities between themselves and other families. Additionally, they find alternative solutions to their problems by sharing strategies. Youth and adult family members find comfort in the group intervention model.

Majority of families are in need of communication skills
Although only one of the sessions is titled “communication,” almost all lessons of FSP involve this subject matter. As professionals, it is often assumed that the general population is educated on this subject matter; but that assumption is false. In the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced world, most families have either forgotten or never been aware of good communication skills.

Throughout the ten sessions, families become aware of (for what seems to be the first time) the necessity of open communication within the household. Parents and youth of all education levels begin to use “I messages,” reflective listening, anger control techniques, positive reinforcement, and effective discipline strategies. As a result, individuals leave our program with a better insight into the lives of their family members. They have begun to respect each other in a way that allows for household stability and connectedness.

First-time offenders desire to discontinue their behavior
Many of the youth that I worked with in Family Solutions were confused about their offenses. More often than not, emotions such as anger or fear had been released through inappropriate behavior; hardly an unexpected reaction for a developing individual to have toward a confusing world. They are often embarrassed about their lack of self-control, and eager to learn the skills to prevent such future incidents.

Despite good intentions, probation sentences only create a negative label for the youth, further adding to their embarrassment and confusion. Juveniles on probation seem to be unable to rid themselves of this “bad kid” label. At Family Solutions, the youth have the opportunity to reflect on poor decision-making, and discover alternative choices to use in the future.

All communities with high rates of juvenile re-offense should consider Family Solutions
The statistics alone show the high success rate of FSP graduates compared to probation sentence completers. In comparison of two juvenile courts in Georgia, one employing the FSP, the other using the “traditional” probation case disposition, the youth in the court where FSP was used were seven times less likely to re-offend (Quinn & Van Dyke, Journal of Community Psychology, 2004). Results that are even half as successful can be considered worthwhile for a community. Not to mention the possibility for better results in some locations.

Speaking from an insider perspective, Family Solutions is recommended by all participating members. Judges in the Athens area insist on the continuation of the program. Our community’s probation officers have made it a policy-standard to place all first-offending juveniles in an FSP group. Facilitators are encouraged to continue their efforts solely due to a continuous gratification of positive results. And, most importantly, participants from the communities are thankful for the opportunity to participate.

I cannot stress enough the effect that Family Solutions has had on my life. I have formed relationships with multitudes of people within my community, coming from a variety of age cohorts and racial backgrounds. I have witnessed a positive change in dozens of individuals, not to mention the alterations made within those individuals’ family lives. This internship has been the most rewarding experience in my life thus far, and it will be difficult to leave it behind as I move on in my educational endeavors. In fact, the only downfall I have found in working at Family Solutions is that I do not know how to stop!!!

*Corinne Huggins in now enrolled as a graduate student at the School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Dr. William Quinn, FSP Executive Director, Writes Book on Family Solutions

Dr. William Quinn’s new book, Family Solutions for Youth at Risk: Applications to Juvenile Delinquency, Truancy and Behavior Problems is a presentation of an effective model program for resolving problem behaviors of youth utilizing the participation of the family.

Background theory and research presented argues for the necessity of including parents, even multiple families, in the delivery of intervention. Using case studies and illustrations, the book tells the story of a group of families taking the journey together through the Family Solutions Program. The inclusion of parents in the intervention provides an opportunity to recognize the part a parent plays in the overall circumstance and development of youth at-risk. Parent involvement enhances communication and cohesion in the family, reduces blame directed at the child, improves family decision-making skills, promotes education success by building the parent advocacy role in education and strengthening the home-school partnership, and provides a learning laboratory for acquiring conflict-resolution and parenting skills.

The model is described in detail, group leader skills for successful outcomes are delineated, and to bolster its validity, outcome data are presented to provide justification for the benefits of the intervention. Finally, practitioners are presented with core principles that are key to a successful collaboration with schools, agencies, and juvenile courts.

The book, Family Solutions for Youth at Risk (2004), is available for purchase. To order, visit www.brunner-routledge.com or call 1-800-634-7064.

Please visite the Articles section of this site to read the announcement for this book.

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Quotes from 2004 FSP Graduates

“Thank you for making me realize how important my family is to me.”
-- Tyson, 14

“This helped me interact with others and to learn how to work as a team.”
-- Kesha, 16

“Now I know that trouble is easy to get into and hard to get out of.”
-- Michael, 12

“This class has helped me to see the mistakes I made in the past and helped me prevent the ones that may happen in the future.”
-- Daniel, 16

“Family Solutions helped me to realize there are other ways to solve my problems other than running away or yelling.”
-- Christina, 13

“I learned that respect is important, and I learned to help others as well as myself.”
-- Anna, 17

“Now that I’ve changed into a different person than I was before, I feel I can do anything and accomplish any goal.”
-- Donte, 14

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