COAC Family Connections Project

Projects

COAC Family Connections Project

COAC Family Connections Project

The Family Connections Project is funded through a federal grant from the Administration on Children and Families. Dr. Monica Faulkner has been contracted by the New York Council on Adoptable Children (COAC), the primary ACF grantee, to oversee the program evaluation for the project.  The purpose of the project is to examine the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parent Program, an evidence based parenting curriculum, with parents who have HIV and/or substance use issues living in Brooklyn, New York.

The purpose of this evaluation is to understand the impact that the Family Connections program has on families with a caregiver who has HIV and/or substance use issues.  Both an outcome and process evaluation will be conducted to assess the Family Connections program. The outcome evaluation will assess the degree to which the program improved family resilience, stability and permanency planning. The process evaluation will provide information regarding program implementation and functioning. Process results will be provided to program staff to inform mid-project adjustments as needed.

Project Objectives
The objectives for the outcome evaluation are:
1. caregivers will report increased protective factors.
2. caregivers will report improvements in parenting skills.
3. 85% of HIV positive parents will maintain compliance with their
medical treatments.
4. 85% of parents who begin the program with substance use issues will report decreased substance use.
5. By the end of the program, 100% of parents needing a permanency plan will have a plan in place.
The objectives for the process evaluation are:
1. By end of year one, a consortium of provider agencies will be established that meets biannually to
discuss service coordination.
2. Throughout the program, Family Connections staff will make appropriate referrals for families to services outside of COAC, specifically substance use and HIV treatment.
3. By April 2014, Family Connections staff will be trained in the Nurturing Parent Program curricula.
4. By the end of the program, 150 families will have received services through the Family Connections Program.