SFP Training & Technical Assistance
Two-day Certified SFP Group Leader Training prepares your staff to recruit families and deliver SFP with fidelity. On-site for up to 35 trainees, or on Zoom for up to 20.
Since 1982
The Original, Proven, Evidence-based Family Skills Training Program for Families with Children Ages Birth to 16
Created by psychologist Karol L. Kumpfer, Ph.D., former Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. SFP teaches parents and children the skills that keep families strong and protect kids from substance use and other risky behaviors.
- 1982Developed by Dr. Karol Kumpfer
- 50States with SFP programs
- 36Countries using SFP
- 2,000+Group Leaders certified by Ahearn Greene Associates
- Recognizedby CrimeSolutions, NREPP, ACF, UNODC and more
Looking for a program to replace SFP 10–14? Iowa State University ended SFP 10–14 on June 30, 2026. Dr. Kumpfer’s SFP 6–11 and SFP 12–16 serve families with children in the same age range, with training available now.
Talk with us about switching
Who uses SFP
Built for the agencies that serve families
SFP is in-person family skills training that adapts to your setting and your families’ culture.
- SchoolsFamily engagement and prevention programs
- Child welfarePrevention, in-home services and reunification
- Substance use treatmentPrograms for parents in recovery and their children
- Courts & juvenile justiceFamily programs for court-involved youth
- Community & faith-basedCommunity centers, churches and public housing
- Health & residentialHospitals, clinics and residential programs
How we help
Everything you need to deliver SFP
Ahearn Greene Associates is the sole source authorized by the SFP developer for training, curriculum, evaluation and implementation support.
SFP Program Evaluation
Research-level evaluation to assure program fidelity, quality and effectiveness, with an evaluation plan tailored to your agency.
SFP Curriculum Orders
Order the SFP Curriculum Master Set for Birth–3, 3–5, 6–11 or 12–16 as a digital download: $450 per set. All curricula are available in English and Spanish.
Support for Grant Writing & Implementation
Get help funding and sustaining SFP: evidence summaries, references, sample budgets, site visits and ongoing technical assistance calls.
A typical weekly session
Parents and children learn together
Most parenting programs teach parents alone. In SFP, parents and children attend together, practice new skills side by side, and take them home. Each program is matched to the child’s developmental age, not chronological age.
First
Family meal
½ hourFamilies share a meal together to open every session.
Then
Separate groups
1 hourParents meet in the Parent Skills group while children attend their Social Skills group or childcare.
Finally
Family practice
30 minutesParents and children rejoin to practice what they learned through fun, interactive activities.
Proven effectiveness
Significant positive outcomes across multiple replications
Parents
- Increased positive parenting
- Increased parental supervision
- Increased parental involvement
- Decreased parental substance abuse or misuse
- Decreased parental depression
Children
- Increased social skills
- Reduced covert and overt aggression
- Reduced concentration problems
- Reduced hyperactivity
- Decreased depression
Families
- Increased family cohesion
- Reduced family conflict
- Increased family organization and order
- Increased family communication skills
- Increased overall family strengths and resilience
Recognized by
- CrimeSolutionsNational Institute of Justice
- NREPPSAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
- ACFAdministration for Children and Families
- UNODCUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- CEBCCalifornia Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
- CSAPSAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Model Program
- NIDANational Institute on Drug Abuse
- OJJDPOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- U.S. Dept. of EducationU.S. Department of Education
SFP is recognized for the prevention of child maltreatment and of parental and youth substance abuse. Download the list of recognitions (PDF).
Ready to bring SFP to your community?
Tell us about your agency and the families you serve. We’ll reply within one or two business days with training options and a quote.