Family Check-Up®

Family Check-Up® supports strategies to better engage parents and parent-centered intervention for reducing problem behaviors in children from toddlers through adolescence.  Research shows this model:

Increases children’s ability to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, improves academic achievement and acceptance by peers, and prevents problem behavior from developing into more severe psychological issues.

  • Family Check-Up increases children’s ability to self-regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors while reducing antisocial behavior and improving verbal ability [Fosco, G. M., Frank, J. L., Stormshak, E. A., & Dishion, T. J. (2013). Opening the “Black Box”: Family Check-Up Intervention Effects on Self-Regulation That Prevents Growth in Problem Behavior and Substance Use. Journal of School Psychology, 51(4), 455-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2013.02.001; Chang, H., Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., Gardner, F., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). Proactive Parenting and Children’s Effortful Control: Mediating Role of Language and Indirect Intervention Effects. Social Development, 24(1), 206-223. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12069]
  • Family Check-Up improves child mental well-being by decreasing child emotional problems and lessening depressive symptoms. [Fosco, G. M., Van Ryzin, M. J., Connell, A. M., & Stormshak, E. A. (2016). Preventing Adolescent Depression with the Family Check-Up: Examining Family Conflict as a Mechanism of Change. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(1), 82-92. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000147; Reuben, J. D., Shaw, D. S., Brennan, L. M., Dishion, T. J., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). A Family-Based Intervention for Improving Children’s Emotional Problems Through Tffects on Maternal Depressive Symptoms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(6), 1142–1148. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000049]
  • Family Check-Up improves scores on children’s school-age academic achievement by improving parenting practices. [Brennan, L. M., Shelleby, E. C., & Shaw, D. S. (2013). Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up on School-Age Academic Achievement Through Improvements in Parenting in Early Childhood. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 762-773. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032096]
  • Family Check-Up prevents oppositional behavior from developing into more severe psychological issues, including disruptive behavior and suicidal ideation. [Dishion, T. J., Brennan, L. M., Shaw, D. S., McEachern, A. D., Wilson, M. N., & Jo, B. (2014). Prevention of Problem Behavior through Annual Family Check-Ups in Early Childhood: Intervention Effects from Home to Early Elementary School. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(3), 343-354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9768-2; Connell, A. M., McKillop, H. N., & Dishion, T. J. (2016). Long‐Term Effects of the Family Check‐Up in Early Adolescence on Risk of Suicide in Early Adulthood. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 46(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12254]

Facilitates positive interactions between caregivers and children by improving parental monitoring and use of positive behavior support, which increases the likelihood of caregivers engaging in proactive parenting rather than coercive parenting.

  • Family Check-Up increases the duration of positive engagement between caregivers and children, suggesting a decrease in the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. [Dishion, T. J., Mun, C. J., Drake, E. C., Tein, J.-Y., Shaw, D. S., & Wilson, M. (2016). A Transactional Approach to Preventing Early Childhood Neglect: The Family Check-Up as a Public Health Strategy. Development and Psychopathology, 27(4), 1647-1660. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579415001005]
  • Family Check-Up improves parent use of positive behavior support, leading to higher scores on children’s academic achievement. [Brennan, L. M., Shelleby, E. C., & Shaw, D. S. (2013). Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up on School-Age Academic Achievement Through Improvements in Parenting in Early Childhood. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 762-773. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032096]
  • Family Check-Up improves parental monitoring practices, which significantly decreases children’s likelihood of substance abuse during adolescence. [Dishion, T. J., Nelson, S. E., & Kavanagh, K. (2003). The Family Check-Up With High-Risk Young Adolescents: Preventing Early-Onset Substance Use by Parent Monitoring. Behavioral Therapy, 34(4), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(03)80035-7]
  • Family Check-Up increases the likelihood of using proactive parenting, which is directly associated with increased positive parent-child interactions and children’s improved verbal ability and effortful control of emotions. [Chang, H., Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., Gardner, F., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). Proactive Parenting and Children’s Effortful Control: Mediating Role of Language and Indirect Intervention Effects. Social Development, 24(1), 206-223. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12069; Chang, H., Shaw, D., Shelleby, E., Dishion, T., & Wilson, M. (2016). The Long-Term Effectiveness of the Family Check-up on Peer Preference: Parent-Child Interaction and Child Effortful Control as Sequential Mediators. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45(4), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0198-9]
  • Family Check-Up increases use of positive parenting practices, improves parent-child interactions, and reduces levels of coercive parenting and child conduct problems. [Sitnick, S. L., Shaw, D. S., Gill, A., Dishion, T., Winter, C., Waller, R., Gardner, F., & Wilson, M. (2015). Parenting and the Family Check-Up: Changes in Observed Parent-Child Interaction Following Early Childhood Intervention. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 44(6), 970–984. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.940623]

Reduces child abuse and neglect, family conflict, and the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors during adolescence and early adulthood, including involvement with deviant peers and substance use.

  • Family Check-Up decreases the probability of child abuse and neglect. [Dishion, T. J., Mun, C. J., Drake, E. C., Tein, J.-Y., Shaw, D. S., & Wilson, M. (2016). A Transactional Approach to Preventing Early Childhood Neglect: The Family Check-Up as a Public Health Strategy. Development and Psychopathology, 27(4), 1647-1660. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579415001005]
  • Family Check-Up lowers the probability of early-adolescent substance use by mediated changes in parental monitory. [Dishion, T. J., Nelson, S. E., & Kavanagh, K. (2003). The Family Check-Up With High-Risk Young Adolescents: Preventing Early-Onset Substance Use by Parent Monitoring. Behavioral Therapy, 34(4), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(03)80035-7]
  • Family Check-Up reduces family conflict and involvement with deviant peers, as well as lowers substance use in the form of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. [Fosco, G. M., Frank, J. L., Stormshak, E. A., & Dishion, T. J. (2013). Opening the “Black Box”: Family Check-Up Intervention Effects on Self-Regulation That Prevents Growth in Problem Behavior and Substance Use. Journal of School Psychology, 51(4), 455-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2013.02.001]
  • Family Check-Up reduces the prevalence of risky behaviors during young adulthood. [Stormshak, E., Caruthers, A., Chronister, K., DeGarmo, D., Stapleton, J., Falkenstein, C., DeVargas, E., & Nash, W. (2019). Reducing Risk Behavior with Family-Centered Prevention During the Young Adult Years. Prevention Science: the Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 20(3), 321–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0917-2]

Family Check-Up® serves families in 3 counties.