The Perspective of the Professionals in the Adaptation and Implementation of the Parental Competence Program (Spanish adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program 6-11) with High Risk Families

The Family Competence Program (FCP, the Spanish adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program) is assessed from the perspective of the professionals in charge of its implementation. FCP aims to reduce risk factors (family conflicts, family dissatisfaction, low self-esteem of parents, difficulties of the family environment, low participation of parents in monitoring their children), reinforce protection factors (communication skills, family organization skills, family cohesion) and improve parent-child relationships. The aim of this implementation study is to record the assessment made by professionals in charge of applying the program on the changes observed in the families, the suitability of the program, and the adequacy of the families’ chosen profile. Likewise, the personal and professional resources that facilitated the task of the implementing team (coordinators and trainers) are also assessed along with any existing difficulties. The assessment of the trainers and coordinators provides basic information in order to learn about how the implementation took place. With this aim in mind, we created a questionnaire that combines open and closed answer questions, to enable us to obtain further information on the top of that already obtained through the regular pre and post test assessments of the programme. The main results point towards suitability of the FCP and improvement of the relationship between professionals and families. The assessments of the professionals are essential in order to provide a better understanding of the development of the program, constituting both an instrument of communication and an instrument of legitimation of their role in the programme.