The Strengthening Families Programme (SFP) is a 14-session, evidence-based family skills programme developed in the US by Dr. Karol L. Kumpfer and associates at the University of Utah in 1982. The programme has been adapted to many age ranges including 3-5 years; 6-11 years; 10-14 years; 12-16 years; and is available in web format for 10-16 years and DVD for 8-16 years. The shorter version - 7 week 10-14 years programme is suitable for universal families and the longer versions such as the 14 week 6-11 years and 12-16 years programmes are targeted at families who require additional supports.

SFP has been culturally adapted to suit many populations and has also been translated into different languages. Similar results have been found for culturally adapted SFP programmes but with the added advantage of making recruitment and retention of families much easier. The Strengthening Families Programme is now operating across 36 countries.

This report details the journey of the Strengthening Families Programme in Ireland and the structures in place which have underpinned its implementation and development to date. In particular the report outlines the impact of the programme at a family, teen and parent level, presenting national data from an Irish sample of 573 families. The findings will convey how the programme delivered on an inter-agency basis in Ireland has had measurable effects in addressing and decreasing risk factors for families and promoting protective factors. Finally, the report will present an overview of policy and practice implications in relation to SFP and outline areas for prioritisation which will contribute towards ensuring the sustainability of the programme as an evidence based family prevention programme in Ireland