Blueprints for Violence Prevention >> Promising Programs >> Raising Healthy Children

Raising Healthy Children

BPP20
 2009
PDF Version of Fact Sheet
Contact Raising Healthy Children

Program Overview:
The Raising Healthy Children program is a social development approach to positive youth development. The approach incorporates school, family and individual programs to promote opportunities, skills and recognition in developmentally appropriate ways from grades 1-12. Research and theory testing has shown that these developmental processes are key elements for creating strong bonds while reducing risks.

Program Targets:
RHC targets all elementary school students, teachers, and parents.

Program Content:
School Program Components
1. School-wide implementation teams to manage the adoption of expectations and discipline strategies for the classroom, playground, lunchroom, and hallways.
2. Classroom management strategies—provides workshops for teachers on strategies that:

  • establish consistent expectations for behaviors and routines at the beginning of the school year
  • give clear, explicit instructions for behavior
  • recognize desirable behavior and efforts to comply
  • keep classroom disruptions from interrupting instruction
  • reduce “dead time” and keep students actively engaged
3. Instructional Strategies--provides workshops for teachers on strategies that:
  • assess and activate foundation knowledge before teaching
  • teach to explicit learning objectives
  • engage students during direct instruction
  • model new skills effectively
  • execute guided practice
  • manage independent practice
  • provide feedback and praise
4. Social, Cognitive and Emotional Learning--provides workshops for teachers on strategies that:
  • conduct direct instruction and reinforcement of social and emotional skills
  • reinforce and recognize social skills usage in the classroom
  • encourage problem-solving with students, with teacher facilitating when necessary
  • assist students with identifying feelings and emotions
  • plan to provide opportunities for students to practice social skills in the classroom
5. Coaching and Support—monthly coaching visits to classrooms to provide reinforcement for implementation of project practices and tips on how to incorporate project practices into teaching.

Family Support Program Components
Raising Healthy Children (five sessions) K-2nd grade families.

  • observing and pointing out desirable and undesirable child behaviors
  • teaching expectations for behavior
  • providing consistent reinforcement for desired behavior
  • providing consistent and moderate consequences for misbehavior
Supporting School Success™ (five sessions) 3-6th grade
  • initiating conversations with teachers about children’s learning
  • helping children develop math and reading skills
  • creating a home environment to support learning
Guiding Good Choices™ (five sessions) 4th-6th grade
  • establishing a family policy on drugs
  • practicing refusal skills with children
  • using self-control skills to reduce family conflict
  • creating opportunities for children to contribute to the family

Home Based Services. Parents needing extra support receive 12 sessions of home based services with the content focused on the material from the parenting programs listed above.
Six booster home visits to assist with transitions into high school, unaccompanied driving and leaving high school.

Peer Program Components

  • social and emotional skill development
  • interpersonal problem-solving skills
  • listening
  • conflict resolution
  • recognizing feelings
  • consequential thinking

Program Outcomes:
By third grade: Significant teacher- and parent-reported increases in academic performance and commitment to school among students in intervention schools compared to students in control schools. In addition, significantly greater increase in teacher-reported social competency and less increase in antisocial behaviors in intervention students compared to controls.
By 10th grade: Significantly less growth in the frequency of alcohol and marijuana use among intervention students compared to controls.
By 11th and 12th grade: Intervention families were significantly more likely to have a written driving contract than families in the control schools. Intervention students were significantly less likely to drive while under the influence of alcohol or ride in a car driven by a minor under the influence.

Program Costs:
The cost of the staff development training varies depending on the number of teachers and the number of schools and travel costs of trainers. The cost per teacher for the three years of training and coaching is about $2400. This includes training, travel and materials.

References

Brown, E.C., Catalano, R.F., Fleming, C.B., Haggerty, K.P. & Abbott, R.D. (2005). Adolescent Substance Use Outcomes in the Raising Healthy Children Project: A Two-Part Latent Growth Curve Analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(4), 699-710.

Catalano, R.F., Mazza, J.J., Harachi, T.W., Abbott, R.D., Haggerty, K.P., & Fleming, C.B. (2003). Raising Healthy Children Through Enhancing Social Development in Elementary School: Results After 1.5 Years. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 143-164.

Haggerty, K.P., Fleming, C.B., Catalano, R.F., Harachi, T.W., & Abbott, R.D. (2006). Raising Healthy Children: Examining the Impact of Promoting Healthy Driving Behavior within a Social Development Intervention. Prevention Science 7, 257-267.

Contact Raising Healthy Children

RAISING HEALTHY CHILDREN

For general program information, contact:
Social Development Research Group
9725 3rd Ave NE, Suite 401
Seattle, WA 98115
Phone: (206) 543-3188
Fax: (206) 543-4507
Email: haggerty@u.washington.edu
Website: www.sdrg.org