Prevention Links, Union County’s Drug Prevention Agency is offering the Strengthening Families Program. The program is open to all families in the Union County area, free of charge, (with a focus on Plainfield) with youth ages 10-14 (7-Session Program) or children 6 – 11 years of age (14 session program). Every night, a catered dinner is offered, as well as childcare and transportation. The long-range goal for the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) curriculum is to reduce substance use and behavior problems during adolescence. Intermediate objectives include improved skills in nurturing and child management by parents, and improved conflict resolution skills among youth. All parents are targeted. Printed material that are distributed to parents are easy to understand. All parent sessions, two youth, and two family sessions use videotapes portraying pro-social behaviors and are appropriate for multi-ethnic families. The SFP 10-14 has seven-two hour sessions for parents and youth, who attend separate skill- building groups for the first hour and spend the second hour together in supervised family activities. Youth sessions focus on strengthening goal setting, dealing with stress and strong emotions, communication skills, increasing responsible behavior, and improving skills to deal with peer pressure. Parents discuss the importance of nurturing their youth, setting rules, monitoring compliance, and applying appropriate discipline. Topics include making house rules, encouraging good behavior, using consequences, building bridges, and protecting against substance abuse. The Strengthening Families program has ongoing programs throughout the year and also offers a program for elementary aged children. If you would like more information on the program or would like to save a place in future rounds please call Prevention Links at 732-381-4100 and ask for Karena King.