New Partner Supporting

NYFS Family Program

By John Voket

While the transition between adolescence and teen years is often among life’s most difficult, Newtown Youth & Family Services is working to make that transition a positive one for everyone involved. The newly merged agency, with the support a brand new community partner, is about to launch its second annual Strengthening Families Program (SFP).

According to Beth Agen, a program coordinator at NYFS, the ten-week program is designed to support families of fifth and sixth graders as the students transition into their teen years. There is no cost to participants.

The next round of the program commences Wednesday, January 16, at 6 pm, continuing for ten weeks at the agency’s new headquarters at 17 Church Hill Road.

Part of the excitement of this year’s program, Ms Agen said, is the involvement of a new partner, MCCA (Midwestern Connecticut Council on Alcoholism).

“MCCA’s prevention staff is bilingual and consists of a program director, a certified prevention professional, and a group facilitator,” Ms Agen said. “They have been running Strengthening Families Sessions in English and Spanish for the past several years.”

She said last winter, Newtown Youth Services, which was in the final stages of merging with the Family Counseling Center of Newtown, hosted its first “extremely successful” session of Strengthening Families with more than 40 participants.

“The program is recognized nationwide for its effectiveness,” Ms Agen said. Organizations such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, as well as the US Department of Education, have all determined through studies that the SFP is making a positive difference with participating families.

“Research has shown that 98 percent of adults attending feel their parenting skills improved due to the program. Furthermore, 65 percent of kids felt that their school bonding and attachment improved, and more than half of all children participating also made better grades,” Ms Agen said.

Participating families will participate together in fun activities and games to promote family bonding. Youngsters will learn how to handle frustration, appreciate parents, resist peer pressure, and get along with others.

“For one hour of each session, families engage in structured activities to reinforce positive behaviors in each other and plan family activities together,” Ms Agen said. “For the other hour children meet separately to learn to understand feelings, develop social skills, and learn about consequences of actions. Meanwhile parents learn to increase desired behaviors by children, problem solving, and limit setting.”

Topics covered will include: dealing with stress in every day life; identifying and building on individual strengths; identifying and building on family strengths; building and improving positive relationships; solving family problems; improving listening skills and improving communications; helping kids with peer pressure; and getting the chores done.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Strengthening Families Program is asked to contact Amanda Walsh via e-mail at awalsh@newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org or call 270-4335.