IMPLEMENTING THE FAMILY CHECK-UP PROGRAM TO PREVENT INITIATION OF OPIOID MISUSE AMONG SIXTH GRADERS IN PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY

The availability of prescriptions for opioids has been increasing since 1996. This type of drug is commonly misused by adolescents ages 12 to 17, making the trends in availability particularly alarming. Adolescence is a crucial point initiation of several risk behaviors, including substance use. During this time, parental monitoring, or awareness of the child’s activities and communication about those activities, is incredibly important for prevention of those risk behaviors. Despite this importance, parental monitoring behaviors often slip during this time. To help strengthen family management and communication leading into adolescence, the Pike County Health Department (PCHD)is proposing the implementation of the Family Check-Up (FCU) Program. The FCU is a strengths-based parenting intervention that strives to improve parental monitoring and family management practices. Research has demonstrated that this program effectively prevents many risk behaviors and has been used in families with children ages 2 through 17. Through implementing this program, PCHD seeks to strengthen its families and combat the prescription opioid epidemic that plagues much of Eastern Kentucky