Celebrating Families!™ 0 Thru 3 Years

Celebrating Families!^TM (CF!) 0 Thru 3 Years is a supplemental CF! curriculum designed for families with children ages 0–3 in which at least one parent has problematic substance use and is at risk of engaging in domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect. CF! 0 Thru 3 Years aims to break the cycle of addiction in families, improve participants’ healthy living skills, and increase children’s well-being and functioning. CF! 0 Thru 3 Years specifically focuses on helping parents with young children develop a healthy attachment with their children and learn positive parenting skills while in recovery from problematic substance use. The goal for children is that they will feel loved, safe, and secure in their parent’s care. The curriculum engages every member of the family to foster the development of healthy and addiction-free individuals.  

Group leaders deliver CF! 0 Thru 3 Years to groups of families in weekly sessions. Sessions involve both parents and children and are fully scripted, including role-play, handouts, children’s stories, and activity sheets.  Each session follows the same structure: (1) 30 minutes of family time, (2) 20 minutes of a family meal or snack, (3) a 10-minute transition to small groups, (4) 85 minutes of small group activities, and (5) a 5-minute closing focused on reflection.  

In the family time, families participate in age-appropriate activities together and group leaders help parents learn about and practice parenting skills. For example, parents learn about following children’s lead, reading to children, and age-appropriate activity choices. After family time, families eat a meal or snack together then transition to small group activities. 

In the small group activities, parents meet to learn about the week’s topic while children meet in separate groups by age (typically one group for children under 2 and one for ages 2–3). At least two group leaders facilitate each small group. Topics for parents focus on healthy living skills (e.g., effective communication and anger management), key addiction and recovery concepts (e.g., addiction is a disease, substance use impacts the whole family), considerations for parenting children ages 0–3, and how to support healthy attachment of children to parents. For parents, small group activities consist of an opening exercise designed to center the group and set expectations, a presentation of the main content, and a closing circle for reflection. For children under age 2, small group activities consist of interactive play with group leaders. For children ages 2–3, small group activities consist of circle time, a simple craft, free play, a snack, and quiet time.  

CF! 0 Thru 3 Years does not currently meet criteria to receive a rating because no studies met eligibility criteria for review.

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed: Nov 2023

Sources

The following sources informed the program or service description, target population, and program or service delivery and implementation information: the program or service manual and the program or service developer’s website.  

This information does not necessarily represent the views of the program or service developers. For more information on how this program or service was reviewed, visit the Review Process page or download the Handbook.