The CODAC Family Health Promotion (FHP) program is a primary prevention program that offers a variety of interventions to children ages 3–8 and to their families. Based on research in risk, resiliency, and protective factors, FHP seeks to reduce risk factors in the child and family domains.
The program offers children developmentally appropriate activities in childcare, school, and recreation to help develop resiliency skills. Parents are encouraged to become involved in activities that enable them to increase protective factors. Participants requiring treatment services will receive them onsite. The central feature of the FHP is the family services team that serves as the integrating force of program. Specific program activities include the following:
The target population for FHP is predominantly Hispanic/Latino. The risk group is mixed and includes latchkey children, children who live in poverty, children who have substance-abusing parents, and children who have been physically, sexually, or psychologically abused.
A quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest with control group design was employed to assess the effectiveness of the prevention interventions. The target group included all families and children who live in and enrolled in the Drachman Magnet, which includes three barrios and the Connie Chambers public housing project in Tucson, Ariz. Eligible participants were required to have children between 3 and 5 years old and be willing to sign evaluation consent forms. The comparison group included children and parents recruited from three Tucson Unified School District elementary schools: Ochoa, Mission View, and Menlo Park. All parents with children enrolled in preschool programs were informed of the study and were invited to be in the comparison groups. According to the school district, the demographics of the schools were comparable with the Drachman Magnet. Several instruments were used to measure the change in risk and resiliency factors, including the Parenting Stress Index, the Early Screening Inventory, the Conners’ Teacher Rating Scale, the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale, the Resource Access Questionnaire, the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use Survey. Data was obtained through multiple sources, including the evaluation team, teachers, parents, and therapists. Trained research assistants or therapists administered the FHP instruments to children individually, after parental consent was given. The Conners’ Teacher Rating Scale was administered at school sites. The Conners’ Parent Rating Scale, the Parenting Stress Index, and other surveys were administered in group formats in either Spanish or English, as needed.
Most of the outcome data measures administered between 1996 and 1999 show that the CODAC Family Health Promotion program accomplished most of its behavioral and related programmatic goals. Analyses of 11 different measures suggest that FHP helps children become “school ready,” reduces risk factors, and enhances protective/resiliency factors. For teachers, the teachers assessments, the Conners’ Teacher Rating Scale, and the Early Screening Inventory all recorded positive improvement from pretest to posttest outcomes. There were also positive improvements in the outcome measures for parents in the Parenting Stress Index, resource utilization, satisfaction, and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use Survey. The Conners’ Parent Rating Scale received mixed results.
Rey, Tony. 1999. CODAC Family Health Promotion Program Status Report. Tucson, Ariz.: CODAC Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
———. 2000. Family Health Promotion Program Final Report. Tucson, Ariz.: CODAC Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
Dr. Linda Arzoumanian
CODAC Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
3100 North First Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
Phone: (520) 327-4505
Fax: (972) 401-8801
Web site: http://www.codac.org
Amy Graves, M.A.
CODAC Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
3100 North First Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
Phone: (520) 327-4505
Fax: (972) 401-8801
E-mail: agraves@codac.org
Web site: http://www.codac.org