Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

Alex Danesco
October 11, 2015
Youth Development in the Context of Family - HEHD 8050
Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

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Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

Case Study
During the course of my career one of the most healthy and competent youth I have worked
with is a girl named Stefanie, who is Asian (50% Chinese and 50% Figian). This paper focuses
on Stefanie when she was seventeen years old. I had the honor of working with Stefanie during
my time as Associate Executive Director of the West End House Boys and Girls Club in
Brighton, MA.
Three critical components of the opportunity
There were several components of the opportunity to work with Stefanie that were
critical. First, Stefanies parents had a very close relationship with each other and with Stefanie
and worked together to help her succeed. Stephanies parents respected each other greatly, and
never undermined each other.
One of the main topics of this course was triangles, which refers to the relationships
between three people (often family members). Triangles can be detrimental to youth when they
are divisive or cause confusion parents can, on a given matter, give conflicting messages to a
child. Clearly, it is important for the child, who is in overall or collective sense, more dependent
on both parents than on one, to deal with the conflicting behavioral influences resulting by
dealing with the inconsistency of these messages (Hoffman, p. 106). Stefanie was not subjected
negative triangles in her immediate family because her parents worked in unison to support her
and her siblings.
The second component of the opportunity was that Stefanie and her parents all loved
spending time at the boys and girls club. Stefanie came daily to complete homework, play
basketball and participate in leadership clubs, etc. Stefanies parents both worked part-time at the
club and were also jokingly referred to as the clubs greeting committee. They were so friendly

Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

and had so much pride in their connection to the club that they were known to cheerily greet
people as they entered the facility.
The third critical component of the opportunity was that Stefanie was highly motivated to
succeed. She aspired to go to college and to graduate school, so it was very important to her that
she was successful in school and in her extracurricular activities
Stefanies parents contributed greatly to her success. Her parents consistently reinforced
that family, religion and education were to be Stefanies three primary priorities. They allowed
her to participate in various activities at the Boys and Girls Club, but she first had to check in
with one of her parents daily, and complete her homework before she did anything else. Stefanis
parents were supportive in a very loving way. They consistently praised her for her hard work
and made it very clear to her that they were interested in her success.
When Stefanie was seventeen years old she began to act in a manner that was greatly
inconsistent with her kind and caring personality. She began to be openly rude to her peers and
some of the adult staff at the boys and girls club. I believe that this may have been the case
because she was feeling as though her brother and sister got more attention from her parents than
she did.
Stefanies brother is autistic, and as a result requires a great deal of attention from
Stefanies parents. Stefanies older sister was very successful and never got into any trouble, so
there was a very high standard for Stefanie to live up to. Also, Stefanies mother frequently
referenced the fact that her sister was more inclined to attend church related activities than
Stefanie, and that she wished she would spend more time at church.
As I look back, I believe that my approach to dealing with Stefanies behavior was not
complete. I spoke with her frequently about her attitude and how she was treating people, but
did not take systems theory into account, and therefore did not explore how her brothers
relationship with her parents, and her sisters relationship with her parents, may have been
having an impact on her.

Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

Systems theory views families as a group of interrelated parts with a defined structure
and hierarchy. Everyone in the family plays a role and their actions have an impact on all others
within the structure individual family members are necessarily interdependent, exerting a
continuous and reciprocal influence on one another (Cox, Paley, p.4). An important aspect of
systems theory is that relationships are reciprocal, with individuals in the family impacting each
other.
Increasing family involvement and connection
I became interested in the topic of family involvement and connection because it is
lacking at my current organization and I am interested in developing methods of increasing it in
the future. In reviewing Stefanies case, I believe that I have developed an idea that would have
been effective for her as well as effective for the youth and families my current organization
serves.
This is an important topic, because in order to have the whole story of the youth we work
with, we must have a connection to their parent(s). I have observed many organizations that plan
programming with little or no consideration for how they will connect with the parents of the
youth they are serving. Youth development organizations need to have a balance of formal
opportunities to engage parents as well as informal opportunities. There should be scheduled
programs and activities as well as an atmosphere that allows for informal conversation between
staff and parents. When schools, communities, and networks of families and institutions guide
families to navigate and access community opportunities, especially those at no or low cost,
families are better able to ensure childrens safety and promote valuable learning opportunities
(Lopez and Caspe, p.5)
Stefanie probably did not need extensive counselling, nor did her family, however, I do
think that she and her family could have benefited from participating in family based activities

Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

together at the boys and girls club. I believe that if she had the opportunity to attend events with
one of her parents, it would have provided them the opportunity to appreciate each other and
have fun together. It is possible that by spending some time together in a fun environment, that
Stefanie would have felt better about herself and her relationship with her parents. It also might
have been helpful, because Stefanies parents would have gotten to see her interact with staff
members and her peers, providing insight to what she was like when she was out of her house.
I think an effective strategy would have been to develop a four session parent teen group
that would provide Stefanie and her peers an opportunity to connect with their parents in the
boys and girls club. OST programs that adopt a learning-centered approach to family
engagement recognize the critical role families play in helping to shape their childrens learning
experiences. These programs also understand the need for families to actively engage with those
learning opportunities, rather than just sit on the sidelines and merely oversee their childrens
participation (Rosenberg, Wilkes, & Harris, p.22). Each session would involve a collaborative
partner who would facilitate a parent/teen activity that would have a particular topic. The
sessions would be fun and interactive and get both the teens and the parents involved.
The first session would focus on healthy eating, with guest sponsor Whole Foods, our
local grocery store. Teens would work with parents to learn about nutrition, as well as actually
making a healthy meal that they can enjoy together. This session will be informative, but will
also provide an opportunity for teens and parents to share a meal together.
The second session would be about community safety, with our towns community police
officer. This session would give parents and teens the opportunity to learn about pertinent safety
issues that the community is facing such as cyber-bullying. It will also provide the opportunity
for teens, parents and law enforcement to get to know each other on personal level, which may

Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

help to alleviate any tension between teens and the police. It is also important because it will
open up a line of communication between parents and law enforcement officials.
The third session will focus on succeeding in high school, and will be facilitated by
guidance counselors from our local high school. Developing a relationship between parents and
school personnel will help parents to support their teens learning and allow school staff to feel
as though they can reach out to the parents involved. The session will include helpful tips about
expectations
The fourth session will focus on employment preparation. This interactive workshop will
be facilitated by volunteers from the local workforce board. This workshop will include mock
interviews, resume preparation and how to dress professionally. Parents will receive tips on how
to effectively support these habits. As an incentive, those who have attended all four sessions
will be invited to a free trip to Six Flags amusement park.
Bronfrenbrenners bioecological theory states that youth develop in several systems
(microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem) each system represents a different
level of interaction with the youth, but all levels are important (Hauser-Cram 2014, p. 26). The
parent teen group would provide critical connectivity between these, as it would unite the youths
parents with staff from the boys and girls club, as well as with the collaborative partners, school
and law enforcement personnel, etc. Parents will develop relationships with various other adults
who are involved with their teens development. These relationships can result in exchanging
important information, etc. which can help those who work with the teen to be more effective.
The collaborative partners would include personnel from the local high school, law
enforcement officials, representatives from the community health center. Each session would
include discussion, activities and dinner. Transportation and child care would be available to help

Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

remove obstacles for attendance. It is critical that we make this program as convenient as
possible for parents who may be apprehensive about the program.
It will also be important for us to demonstrate to parents that it is essential that they
participate in the program. The Family Solutions Program (FSP) requires parents to attend in
part due to the belief that "the likelihood of parental involvement is greater when the
commitment to the value of parent inclusion is high and the theoretical stance is unwavering"
(Quinn, p. 90). FSP insists that parents are present for the program to reinforce to parents that
they are important, and what they are able to contribute to the program is very important too. If
attendance was optional, parents may think that their input must not be that critical, so they need
not extend the effort.
Conclusion
Stefanie was a high functioning teen who was loved by her parents. She experienced
some behavioral difficult in high school that may have been more effectively dealt with by
providing her fun, learning opportunities with her parents in the boys and girls club. By
providing Stefanie with a program that focuses on building strengths that she already had, we
could have turned a difficult situation into a growth opportunity. We also would have increased
family involvement and connection with our program.

References
Cox, M.J. and Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology. 48:
p. 243, Annual Reviews, Inc.
Hauser-Cram, P., Nugent, J.K., Thies, K.M., & Travers, J.F. (2014). Development of children
and adolescents. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Increasing Family Involvement and Connection

Hoffman, L. (1981) Foundations of Family Therapy: A Conceptual Framework for Systems

Change, New York, Basic Books Inc.
Lopez, M.E., & Caspe, M. (2014). Family engagement in anywhere, anytime learning.
Harvard Family Research Project.
Quinn, W. H. (2004). A Multiple Family Group Perspective, Family Solutions for Youth at Risk
(pp. 73-102). Brunner-Routledge.
Rosenberg, H., Wilkes, S., & Harris, E. (2014). Bringing families into out-of-school time
learning. The Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities, 1(1) 18-23.