We hope these resources will help you engage parents and families in your program and help parents and families become involved in their children’s education and health.
Websites
SAMHSA Parent Involvement Resources
Parent Involvement material available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) include
- A Family Guide To Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy and Drug Free (http://www.family.samhsa.gov/) is a public education Web site supporting the efforts of parents and other caring adults to promote mental health and prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs among 7- to 18-year-olds.
- 15+ Make Time to Listen, Take Time to Talk (http://www.mentalhealth.org/15plus/) is based on the premise that parents who talk with their children about what is happening in their lives are better able to guide their children toward more positive, skill-enhancing activities and friendships. The campaign provides practical guidance for parents and caregivers on how to strengthen their relationship with their children by spending at least 15 minutes of daily, undivided time with them and focusing on them. Topics include bullying, mental health, depression, and fatherhood. A variety of resources are available online and for order from SAMHSA including fact sheets, reports, parent kits, games, and other materials that can be used by parents and programs.
National PTA (http://www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/index.asp)
The Parent Involvement section of the National PTA website contains information for parents on how to be involved in children’s education, as well as how to help children succeed academically, avoid using alcohol and other drugs, and talk to children about issues including sex, violence, bullying, and personal health.
Publications Available Online
Family Involvement: Meeting Summary: Critical Issues Planning Session
April 15, 1997. (http://csmha.umaryland.edu/cim/CI04_1997.pdf) Baltimore, MD: Center for School Mental Health Assistance, 1997
This summary of a meeting of experts on engaging parents as partners in school-based mental health programs includes discussions of tools for effectively integrating a family involvement program into schools and communities, practical steps for a pro-active approach to family involvement, recommendations to involve parents in the preplanning stage that would support outreach strategies to families of school-age children in the broader community, and confidentiality issues.
Family Involvement in Expanded School Mental Health Programs Resource Packet (http://csmha.umaryland.edu/how/family_involvement_2002.pdf) Baltimore, MD: Center for School Mental Health Assistance, 2002.
This short publication discusses the challenges and benefits of involving parents in expanded school mental health programs. It also offers strategies for parent involvement and a resource list.
Kentucky Tobacco Policy Research Program
(http://www.mc.uky.edu/tobaccopolicy/New%20Stuff/ResearchProduct/
ResearchProductAbuse.HTM)
The Tobacco Prevention Community Partnerships project of the Kentucky Tobacco Policy Research Program produced a series of publications summarizing their research on the relationship between parental involvement and preventing the use of tobacco and other drugs. Among the articles available for download from their Web site are:
- Cues to Parent Involvement in Drug Prevention and School Activities, which identified strategies that promote parent involvement with very young children in alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention programs
- Parental Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Use and Health Beliefs about Parental Involvement in AOD Prevention, which summarizes the differences between the attitudes of parents who are involved in AOD and those who are not to the potential success of AOD prevention programs for their children
- Parent Participation and Preschool Drug Prevention Programs, which documents the impact of parent participation in an AOD program and the success of the program in changing both children’s and parents’ attitudes toward AOD.
Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project Parent Involvement Initiatives
(http://www.laamp.org/parent_involvement.html)
The Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAMP) Parents As Learning Partners (PLP) program implemented comprehensive parental engagement plans in three California schools. PLP focused on strengthening communication between the school and the home, providing information and support to families so that children come to school ready to learn, creating stronger partnerships between classroom teachers and families, and providing information to parents / families about what children need to know and be able to do to succeed in school and about how to support students learning at home. The results and lessons learned have been documented in a series of publications available on line. These include:
- Parents and Teachers Working Together to Support Third Grade Achievement: Parents as Learning Partners (PLP) Findings
- How Did A Parent Education Program Change Parent Behaviors Related to Student Achievement?
- How Can Internal and External Evaluations Help Improve Parent Involvement Programs?
- How to Help Your Child at Different Stages of Their Education
- How Well Does Your School Involve Parents?
- Steps Toward Successful Partnerships Between Schools, Families, and Communities
- Steps to College: A College Planning Guide for Middle School and High School Students
Parent Involvement in Children’s Education: Efforts by Public Elementary Schools
(http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/98032/index.asp) Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, 1996.
Although primarily concerned with academics rather than prevention, this Department of Education report on The Survey on Family and School Partnerships in Public Schools, K-8, provides a good overview of how elementary schools can promote family involvement. Topics covered include:
- The kinds of communication schools establish to provide parents with information about the goals of the school, their children's progress, and topics relevant to assisting students outside of school.
- The kinds of activities schools sponsor that are designed to inform parents about their children's performance, including academic, artistic, and athletic demonstrations, and the typical parent attendance at these activities.
- The kinds of volunteer activities schools make available to parents, and the extent to which parents participate in these activities.
- The extent to which parents are included in decision-making regarding selected school issues.
