Programs: Together We Can
Photo credit: Todd Johnson-OSU Communications
Unidos Se Puede, formerly Juntos, is a culturally-appropriate prevention program being delivered to 300 Latino immigrant families in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Designed to increase academic performance and reduce substance use and other common negative behaviors, Unidos promotes family engagement, success coaching, and positive peer affiliations through year-round activities. Participating families have shown significant increases in positive parenting behaviors and decreases in youth alcohol and drug use. Students also increased their GPAs by 29 percent, and decreased tardiness and absences by 23 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Unidos is widely accepted by both the families and the school systems where implemented, and is poised to become a model for helping communities across the United States address the needs of their growing Latino immigrant populations. Dr. Ronald Cox, Oklahoma State University researcher and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service specialist, launched Unidos in response to a general lack of programs designed to meet the unique needs of shifting Latino migration patterns where new settlement communities are poorly equipped to support immigrant populations.
NIFA supports this project through the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk program.
Institution: Oklahoma State Extension Service URL: https://humansciences.okstate.edu/hdfs/unidos/index.html
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