TRAINING

Training of SFP group leaders by SFP-certified trainers and technical assistance for implementation, including quality/fidelity assurance and evaluation, are provided by Lutra Group, Inc. Contact Dr. Henry O. Whiteside, President, (801) 583-4601 or hwhiteside@lutragroup.com.

Fees are $3,900 for a two-day SFP group leader training for 35 or fewer trainees or $3300 for a training of 15 or fewer. The training fee includes a SFP master set of course materials on CD for one age-variant and site-limited license to reproduce copies for the agency's own use.

Trainer(s) expenses for two or one trainers, for the larger or smaller groups, respectively, including travel, lodging, and per diem of $40 are reimbursable in addition to the training fee,. Upon request Lutra Group, Inc. also offers a comprehensive fee including training, CD, and all travel for trainer(s).

SFP training teams typically include a woman and a man and reflect the ethnicity of the trainees and families to be served. Training in the United States is available in English and in Spanish. The training fee includes some technical assistance in implementation.

Staffing to implement SFP requires a bare minimum of five trained staff: two group leaders for the parents, two for children or teens, and a site coordinator. If your budget is limited and the number to be trained is small, you may be able to send your trainees to a training already scheduled to be hosted by another agency. Lutra Group will help you locate other trainings, but the terms and costs are negotiated directly with the host agency. Finding a training in your region to meet your schedule is often difficult, however, and travel costs for trainees often more than offset cost savings of hosting your own training.

SFP group leader trainings include both instruction and participation by trainees and include:

  • Conceptual basis and origins of SFP
  • Overall structure and operation of SFP
  • Overview of the parent, child, and family curriculums
  • Learning "Child's Game" and "Parent's Game" in SFP3-5 and SFP6-11 and “Our Time” and “Clear Directions in SFP12-16
  • Simulation experience delivering sessions from parent, child, and family courses
  • Recruiting and retaining families and decreasing attrition
  • Administering evaluation instruments
  • Dealing with ethical and legal problems; handling crisis; providing referrals
  • Group leading skills
Evaluation of SFP implementations, offered through Lutra Group, Inc. is comprehensive, normed against a national data base, and extremely cost-competitive. All evaluations are supervised by the program developer and data is entered, analyzed and evaluated by staff at the Strengthening Families Program national office. A follow-up on-site visit once implementation has begun is often helpful in assuring fidelity and program effectiveness. See Evaluation for more detail and Request for Evaluation Cost Estimate form.