Program uses family to help at-risk children

A nationwide program to keep at-risk children out of trouble – Families and Schools Together (FAST) – has cut a swath of success through the tangled thicket of poverty, drugs and social isolation.

At a time of rising concern over school violence, FAST plugs into families and other existing social networks to increase parental involvement with at-risk youth, as well as with other families at the same school. Developed a decade ago by UW–Madison researcher Lynn McDonald, it now is used by more than 500 schools in 35 states and five nations.

Related Web site: Families and Schools Together

The program’s effectiveness was recognized March 23 when it received a New American Community Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. The award recognizes partnerships aimed at fostering community problem-solving in juvenile and criminal justice issues.

FAST is adapted by each local group of 10-15 participating families to serve their own needs. The program typically includes 8-10 weekly meetings for parents and students, followed by two years of monthly meetings.

“Traditionally, children have been monitored by parents, neighbors and other caring adults,” says McDonald, a senior scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW–Madison. “But in recent years that monitoring has suffered from the effects of increased social isolation based in part on the busyness of working parents.”

The eight to 10 weeks of FAST, she points out, are shorter than either the waiting period to enter most treatment facilities or the trial period to determine medication used to reduce violent episodes.

Each weekly FAST session lasts about two-and-a-half hours. It includes singing, a family meal, family communication games, play therapy for elementary children and parental discussion. All activities are based on research that shows how stronger social networks can produce children who are better students.

“FAST increases parent involvement by engaging stressed and isolated families,” says McDonald. “Parents learn to communicate better with their children, monitor their behavior and interact with them through play. They also become more involved with social networks of other parents, schools and communities.”

FAST has been widely cited as an effective program for at-risk children by the U.S. Department of Education, the 1998 White House Conference on School Safety and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The reason for this recognition, says McDonald, is that FAST works. A study of 400 elementary students with clinically severe mental health problems in 13 states showed that FAST participation significantly cut their incidence of conduct disorder, anxiety/withdrawal and attention span problems.

And FAST works in diverse settings. Literacy is not a requirement because FAST is based on activities, not lectures and readings, and language barriers do not restrict access to the program. Of all parents who were willing to attend one FAST session, 80 percent have completed the program.

Nationally, 51 percent of FAST participants have been Caucasian, 25 percent Latino, 23 percent African American and 2 percent Asian and Native American. Seventy percent of the children have been considered low-income.

One of FAST’s distinctive features is its holistic approach. “Many research-based intervention programs focus on a specific social problem such as school truancy or drug addiction,” says McDonald. “So a community that wants to address several issues is faced with implementing several programs.

“But FAST is a single, positive intervention that integrates different research findings to strengthen families and improve the lives and futures of children.”