“As a parent, sometimes it really helps to get a different perspective,” said Tiffany, a mom whose children were placed in foster care. “I’ve learned a lot about that through the Families Together Program.”
As part of the pilot program, Tiffany, who lives in Chicago, participated in GenPMTO, an evidence-based parent training model that she completed. GenPMTO, a key part of the Families Together program, helps build positive and effective parenting.
Once a week, Tiffany met one-on-one with a parent specialist from LSSI. The personable and structured approach encouraged her to apply what she learned to her family.
Tiffany said that she loved her parent specialist and GenPMTO instructor. “Parents can and do go through a lot, and they definitely understand that,” she said. “They really wanted the best for me and my kids.”
Tiffany, in fact, points to how the experience has helped her respond to many everyday challenges of raising children.
Sometimes that challenge may be an important but potentially overlooked aspect of parenting—like what kind of tone parents use when speaking to their children.
“Your tone means a lot,” said Tiffany. “I’ve learned more about how kids may not be so receptive to a certain tone. They can block you out and it’s like ‘Oh, I’m not going to listen.’ This is very important.”
The one-on-one sessions also cast a new light for her on how to apply consequences and create incentives in parenting situations. “It is appropriate to teach kids what will happen if they act in a certain way,” she said. “I liked learning and talking about that in this program.”
Now reunited with her children, Tiffany continues to apply what she learned in Families Together and GenPMTO.
