Contact:	Kirby T. Alvy, Ph.D. Executive Director Center for the Improvement of Child Caring 11331 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 103 Studio City, CA 91604–0903 Tel: (800) 325–CICC Fax: (818) 783
Main Purpose:	To enable parents to assist their children with the challenges of growing up in the U.S.
Target Group:	Latino parents
Description:	Written by Drs. Lupita Montoya Tannatt and Kerby T. Alvy, the program is based on child-rearing research with Latino families and recommendations of nationally respected Latino educators and mental health specialists. Los Niños presents a wide range of basic child-rearing skills, along with "dichos" or Latino proverbs, used to make the learning and use of skills compatible with Latino cultural traditions. Parents learn how to praise effectively, to confront, to use family conversations, and to employ "time out" procedures. The program is widely used in schools, mental health and social service agencies, churches, and hospitals. It addresses school dropout prevention and drug and child abuse. The program is taught as a 12-session class for groups of parents, with the last session serving as a graduation celebration. In addition to basic program materials, an audiocasette presentation is available for instructors.
Evaluation:	The initial field testing of the program in the 1980s was with newly immigrated Latino families, and it was found to be highly successful. Participating parents perceived their relationships with their kindergarten children as being either better or much better, whereas parents who did not attend the classes saw their relationships with their children as being the same or getting worse over a comparable time period. Children's behavior improvements were reported by parents and confirmed by teachers' reports. Los Niños Bien Educados is now being used nationwide with a variety of Latino Americans. It has become the centerpiece of parent involvement programs in numerous school districts, as well as serving as part of dropout prevention projects. The program is also being used by a variety of communities as part of their efforts to combat poor outcomes for youth.

(Source: The CICC Parent Training and Family Life Catalog, 2nd edition)

Parenting IS Prevention Training of Trainers Workshop, 1998	SAMHSA

Office of National Drug Control Policy