Parent perspectives of engagement in the strengthening families program: An evidence‐based intervention for families in child welfare and affected by parental substance use

Abstract

Despite growing use of evidence‐based parenting interventions (EBPIs) in child welfare settings, few qualitative studies have obtained parents' direct views and feedback on these programs. Further, engagement in EBPIs continues to present challenges in a child welfare context, particularly for parents affected by substances. We sought to understand parents' experiences of the supports and barriers to engagement in an EBPI. Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 parents who were involved in child welfare and a family drug treatment court, affected by parental substance use, and had recently completed the Strengthening Families Program. Our results indicated that barriers and supports comprised individual, provider, and programmatic factors. A prevalent theme was providers' abilities to build supportive helping relationships and facilitate a dynamic group effectively. Also significant were pragmatic program features that directly assisted families' access and ongoing participation, such as transportation and scheduling.

Improving engagement with services to prevent Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) in families with children at risk of significant harm: A systematic review of evidence

“…The focus on relationship‐based practice and neighbourhood relevant programmes seemed to be strong indicators of not only parental satisfaction but also engagement with emphasis on parental empowerment and wellbeing. Akin et al (2018) interviewed parents participating in a comprehensive drug misuse programme (Strengthening Families), they noted the importance of skilled facilitators who parents perceived to be caring and well prepared.…”

Online psychoeducation with parent management training: Examining the contribution of peer support

“…Akin et al () found client, therapeutic relationship, and programme barriers to be particularly problematic for engaging child welfare parents in intervention. In our study, the online intervention design had high levels of engagement.…”

“…Recruitment and retention of participants for parent management training have been limited for parents of lower socio-economic status (Buchanan, 2006;Gross, Julion, & Fogg, 2001;Peters, Calam, & Harrington, 2005), lower educational attainment (Cunningham et al, 1995), single-parent-headed households (Katz et al, 2001), ethnic minority parents (Martinez & Eddy, 2005), younger parents (Reyno & McGrath, 2006), socially isolated parents (McCurdy & Daro, 2001), and parents exhibiting problems for psychopathology or substance abuse and dependence (Barkley, Edwards, & Robin, 1999). Akin et al (2018) found client, therapeutic relationship, and programme barriers to be particularly problematic for engaging child welfare parents in intervention. In our study, the online intervention design had high levels of engagement.…”

“…Logistical barriers are further highlighted in the United States by the fact that more than 55% of rural areas have no social workers, psychologists, or psychiatrists (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, ). Akin, Johnson‐Motoyama, Davis, Paceley, and Brook () found overcoming logistical barriers was central to engaging child welfare parents in a strengthening families programme.…”

“…For example, videoconferencing technology provides a higher quality of “live” experience but is costlier for users, introduces greater privacy concerns, and requires coordination of synchronous time schedules. Based on a study of participation in a strengthening families programme (Akin et al, ), these delivery characteristics would be barriers to engaging child welfare parents.…”