Family Engagement Program

For Caregivers of RY & CAST Youth

What is the Family Engagement Program?

A family-centered, trauma-informed intervention, the Family Engagement Program is designed to engage the parents, guardians, or caregivers of your school or agency youth—those involved in an RY or CAST Program or not.*

It consists of four sessions, led by a trained Family Engagement Facilitator:

  1. Your Expertise as a Parent
  2. Communicating with Support
  3. Taking the Pulse of the School
  4. Helping Your Teen Stay on Track

What are the Goals?

This research-based program outlines the important combination of speaking up, listening, expressing feelings, building self-esteem, and offering needed support.

Through coaching, practice and supportive feedback, these important adults learn skills to support their students in:

  • Mood Management

  • Drug-Use Control

  • Improving School Performance

*As a value-add, when combined with our Foundational Programs, this strength-based model can substantially boost the outcomes of your RY or CAST youth, by instilling support in the home environment for all of the hard work the teens are doing in their group.

How Does it Work?

The four Family Engagement sessions have a great deal of flexibility. They can be delivered:

  • In-person or remotely (via video conferencing)

  • To a group of parents or with just one caregiving unit at a time

  • As a home-visit, at the school or in another community setting (e.g., a library, church, or community center)

  • Weekly (i.e., in four weeks) or less frequently (i.e., over the course of a CAST group, such as 6-12 weeks)

Who Can Participate?

Any parent, guardian, caregiver of youth in your setting!

We designed this program for those important adults of the youth in our CAST and Reconnecting Youth Programs, as it teaches them some of the same skills that their child is learning, facilitating appropriate support in the home.

But every parent deserves the outreach, engagement, and support of your team, as any good SEL roadmap will recommend.