Familia Adelante

Website

Program Description
Familia Adelante is a culturally tailored intervention designed to support Latino families by preventing and reducing behavioral health issues among youth. It emphasizes enhancing family communication, addressing mental health concerns, and improving overall family functioning. The program includes educational workshops, family counseling sessions, and community resource connections, focusing on resilience, cultural pride, and healthy family dynamics. Using culturally relevant methods, Familia Adelante aims to reduce individual, family, and community stress, increasing youths' psychosocial coping skills and decreasing their risks for substance abuse, mental health issues, unsafe sexual practices, and HIV.

Prevention Category

Practice Level

Strategies

Practice Components

Risk and Protective Factors

Population Age

Populations of Focus

Settings

Parental/Caregiver Involvement

Substance Use Prevention Focus

Recommended Staffing

Empirical Evidence of Impact
Substance | Substance-Related Behavior | Age | Evidence Strength and Study Populations of Focus |
Alcohol | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 11-21 | Promising (Latino/a/x)1-2 |
Cannabis | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 11-21 | Moderate (Latino/a/x)1-2 |
Tobacco | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 13-21 | Promising (Latino/a/x)2 |
Illicit Drugs | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 11-14 | Promising (Latino/a/x)1 |
Substance Use (General) | Changes in Knowledge, Attitudes, or Beliefs | 11-21 | Moderate (Latino/a/x)1-3 |
References
1 Cervantes, R., Goldbach, J., & Santos, S. M. (2011). Familia Adelante: A Multi-Risk Prevention Intervention for Latino Families. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 32(3–4), 225–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-011-0251-y 2 Cervantes, R., Sa, J., Kaplan, C., Pineda, A. (2023) Findings from the “Pueblo Sano” project using the Familia Adelante (FA) youth intervention model for Latinx youth and families in Los Angeles. Presented at 2023 Latinx Mental Health Conference. The Intertwined Self: Weaving Our Strengths to Build a Stronger Community.
3 Dowling, J., McCoy-Contreras, L. (2017) Parent Commission Grant Program. Annual Evaluation Report. Arizona Parents Commission on Drug Education and Prevention Governor's Office of Youth, Faith and family. |

Training and Technical Assistance
Trainings are provided for organizations for up to 30 individuals either in-person or locally, for $8,250 plus the cost of trainer travel and expenses. If multiple organizations are being trained at the same time, it is recommended that a minimum of 4-10 staff per agency be trained in group training formats. Trainings include the development of a plan for site-specific Familia Adelante implementation, supervision, and fidelity monitoring. After trainings, teams receive ongoing coaching to help support the uptake of the program by participating in up to four post-training webinars.

Adaptations
Familia Adelante has been adapted for use with American Indian/Alaska Native populations.

Program Costs
Please visit the developer’s website listed above for updated information about implementation costs.

What California Providers Are Saying
We have not yet spoken to any California service providers about their experience implementing Familia Adelante. If you have implemented this program and would like to share your experience, we would like to hear from you and add what you learned about implementing Familia Adelante to SUPER. Please contact us.
Labels
Selective,
Indicated,
Universal,
Individual,
Relationship,
Education,
Cognitive Behavioral Strategies,
Cultural/Religious Focus, cultural religious focus,
Psychoeducation,
Skills Training
Parenting Education/Skills, parenting education skills,
Peer Norm Development,
Support Networking,
Conduct disorder,
Early initiation of substance use,
Favorable attitudes towards substance abuse,
Negative emotional state,
Poor coping skills and behaviors,
Rebelliousness,
Emotional self-regulation,
Positive temperament,
Strong coping skills (e.g. problem-solving skills, ability to stand up for beliefs and values),
Family conflict,
Attachment between caregivers and youth, including unity, warmth, and attachment,
Supportive relationships with family,
Academic failure,
Norms favorable towards substance use,
Substance use among peers,
Age 6-12, Ages 6-12,
Age 13-17, Ages 13-17,
Hispanic,
Required,
Substance Use - General, substance use general, general substance use, substance use-general,
School (K-12), k-12
Health/social work counselor, therapist or professional (unlicensed), health social,
Health/social work counselor, therapist or professional (licensed),
Prevention Staff,
Teachers/Educators, teachers educators, teachers-educators, teachers educators,