Topic: Behavioral Problems, Emotional Competency, Social Competency, Parenting
Target Population: Families
Sector: Community-Based, Medical Setting, School-Based
This program is delivered to parents or caregivers of children and adolescents who are 2 through 17 years old and is intended to impact parents and youth.
Family Check-Up® (FCU) is designed to help support healthy emotional and social development among children and adolescents and can be implemented in school, primary care, or community health settings. FCU is one component of Positive Family Support (PFS), and a separate fact sheet is available for this program.
Numerous evaluations conducted by program developers have suggested that participation in the FCU is associated with a variety of positive outcomes among children, adolescents, and parents. Relative to members of various comparison groups, intervention participants have demonstrated improved parenting practices, particularly for those with higher levels of parenting stress; healthier family relations; maintenance of family-school engagement; increased self-regulation and inhibitory control; lower irritability; fewer antisocial, emotional, and behavioral problems; decreased substance use; and fewer arrests among youth. Given the flexibility of this intervention, some of these findings are based on variations of the FCU model. Additionally, results from an evaluation of an online delivery of FCU with coaching support indicated reductions in emotional problems for children and improved parental confidence and self-efficacy for those in the intervention group compared to a wait-list control group.
The FCU model helps identify areas of need in families, provides feedback to family members, and locates interventions that can help families support the behavioral and emotional growth and adjustments of their children and adolescents. This intervention includes two phases. The first phase is delivered in three sessions:
The second phase consists of parent management training in the form of the Everyday Parenting program*, and these sessions focus on improving parents' skills in supporting positive behavior, setting appropriate limits, and strengthening relationship quality.
*A separate fact sheet is available for this program.
The FCU has been implemented throughout the United States since 1994.
This program is facilitated by FCU providers who should possess a master's degree with some clinical experience. Please visit https://www.uoregon.edu/contact-us or email fcu@uoregon.edu for more information on training and costs.
Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring buy-in from families and schools, recruiting providers who have a suitable background and ensuring they receive training, and establishing the availability of high-quality prevention programs within the community.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing the FCU, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Phase one includes three 1-hour sessions. Phase two ranges from three to 15 sessions, and these sessions vary in length.
Implementation costs for this intervention could include training, staff salaries, office space, travel, and miscellaneous supplies. These costs vary; however, a cost analysis indicated the average cost per family is $1,066 per year.
To move the FCU to the Effective category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one external evaluation must be conducted that demonstrates sustained, positive outcomes. This study must be conducted independently of the program developer.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact the University of Oregon by mail 1585 E 13th Ave., Eugene, OR 97403 or phone 1-541-346-1000 or contact Dr. Stormshak by email bstorm@uoregon.edu or visit https://www.uoregon.edu/contact-us
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Chang, H., Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., Gardner, F., & Wilson, M. N. (2014). Direct and indirect effects of the family check-up on self-regulation from toddlerhood to early school-age. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(7), 1117-1128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9859-8
Chang, H., Shaw, D. S., Shelleby, E. C., Dishion, T. J., & Wilson, M. N. (2017). The long-term effectiveness of the family check-up on peer preference: Parent-child interaction and child effortful control as sequential mediators. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45(4), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0198-9
Connell, A. M., & Dishion, T. J. (2016). Long-term effects of the family check-up in public secondary school on diagnosed major depressive disorder in adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0482-6
Connell, A. M., McKillop, H. N., & Dishion, T. J. (2016). Long-term effects of the family check-up in early adolescence on risk of suicide in early adulthood. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 46, S15-S22. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12254
Connell, A. M., Shaw, D., Wilson, M., Danzo, S., Weaver-Krug, C., Lemery-Chalfant, K., & Dishion, T. J. (2019). Indirect effects of the early childhood family check-up on adolescent suicide risk: The mediating role of inhibitory control. Development and Psychopathology, 31(5), 1901-1910. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579419000877
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Hentges, R. F., Weaver Krug, C. M., Shaw, D. S., Wilson, M. N., Dishion, T. J., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). The long-term indirect effect of the early family check-up intervention on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms via inhibitory control. Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579419001482
Kuklinski, M. R., Crowley, D. M., Dishion, T. J., Wilson, M. N., Pelham, W. E., & Shaw, D. S. (2020). Supporting strategic investment in social programs: A cost analysis of the family check-up. Prevention Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-019-01077-3
Montaño, Z., Smith, J. D., Dishion, T. J., Shaw, D. S., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). Longitudinal relations between observed parenting behaviors and dietary quality of meals from ages 2 to 5. Appetite, 87, 324-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.219
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Shaw, D. S., Sitnick, S. L., Brennan, L. M., Choe, D. E., Dishion, T. J., Wilson, M. N., & Gardner, F. (2016). The long-term effectiveness of the family check-up on school-age conduct problems: Moderation by neighborhood deprivation. Development and Psychopathology, 28(4), 1471-1486. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579415001212
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Smith, J. D., Knoble, N. B., Zerr, A. A., Dishion, T. J., & Stormshak, E. A. (2014). Family check-up effects across diverse ethnic groups: Reducing early-adolescence antisocial behavior by reducing family conflict. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 43(3), 400-414. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.888670
Stormshak, E. A., DeGarmo, D., Garbacz, S. A., McIntyre, L. L., & Caruthers, A. (2020). Using motivational interviewing to improve parenting skills and prevent problem behavior during the transition to kindergarten. Prevention Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01102-w
