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PROGRAM INFORMATION
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About Us
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The Focus on the Family Australia, How to Drug Proof Your Kids (DPYK®) program has been enormously successful. Since it was first developed in Australia in 1999, 2,500 facilitators have been trained and they in turn have provided education and training for over 51,000 parents across the nation. The program has also been successfully implemented in 11 countries including Canada, New Zealand, the UK, France and the USA, and interest has been shown by many more.
The program has been endorsed by political and industry leaders, including the former Prime Minister Mr Howard, and received considerable funding from the Department for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
Over the last 3 years the program has undergone an extensive evaluation and revision process, in consultation with Professor Toumbourou (Head of Health Psychology, Deakin University), John Bamberg (Research and Evaluation Consultant, Western Region Health Centre), and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
As in the original, the revised program has been built around the well documented premise that ‘parents are the most influential factor in steering children away from drug use’.
The new DPYK program is an evidence-based, prevention-focused program aimed at parents of 8 to 14 year old children.
The program highlights the risks of both illicit and licit drugs, with a particular emphasis on Alcohol. Alcohol related issues covered include the latest National Health and Medical Research Council drinking guidelines, latest research around brain development in adolescence, binge drinking, and parental and cultural influences.
In line with research, a major thrust of the program is ‘best practice parenting’, with lots of information and tips on getting to know, enjoying, and positively influencing kids. It continues to be very interactive, allowing for lots of discussion and activities, with an added dimension of child participation in the final session.
“We think the program has a very sound logic by which it can take parents through a number of steps and changes they can make, that will lead their children to a healthy future.”
Professor Toumbourou, 2009
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