This intervention trial describes an effort to proactively identify and engage young families potentially at risk for early development of child problem behavior. One of the major barriers to the use of family-centered intervention strategies is surmounting the reluctance of parents to seek parenting support (Spoth, Kavanagh,& Dishion, 2002), and therefore their inability to benefit from the parenting services offered (Patterson, 1985). The health maintenance framework provides an alternative approach to family engagement by virtue of being brief, motivation focused, collaborative, and strengths based. Most important, the FCU was offered every year during the early childhood period. The relatively high levels of engagement in the FCU (greater than 70%) and the follow-up parent management training interventions suggest the approach has promise.
