Strong African American Families (SAAF)

The Strong African American Families (SAAF) program is a 7-week interactive educational program for African American parents and their early adolescent children living in rural communities. Early adolescence is the period in which children gain increasing control over their behavior, begin forming friendships based on similarities and common interests, and develop attitudes toward substances and substance use. The attitudes and behaviors that they develop during this time influence their achievement motivation, academic performance and friendship selections, which in turn lead them toward or away from substance use. The SAAF program is designed to strengthen positive family interactions and to enhance parents' efforts to help their children establish and reach positive goals during this critical transition between childhood and adolescence.