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History of KLM
From 2000-2006, Linda was the team leader on a project to write/develop an alcohol and drug prevention curriculum for use in Russian schools. Our main goal as we developed the project was to incorporate the latest research in the field of prevention and working with children of alcoholics/addicts (COA/A’s) – including brain chemistry, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and learning differences – to produce a state-of-the-art curriculum unlike any currently in existence.
It did not take long before ALL of us on the writing team realized the tremendous potential for using this material here at home, as well as in Russia. Kids Like Me! is the first adaptation of these state-of-the-art materials for use in churches and other Christian organizations in the US.
The Writing Team
Since the Kids Like Me! program is an adaptation of the Russian prevention curriculum, all of our writing team members had a significant part in developing the materials in this manual. They are:
Linda Sibley Team Leader & Primary Editor
Linda is the author and founder of Confident Kids, an organization which has been enabling churches and other Christian ministries to provide support groups to high stress children and their parents for more than 13 years. She and her husband, David, travel extensively to train church leaders how to begin and run Confident Kids support groups. She is also a contributing editor to STEPS Magazine (the publication of the National Association of Christian Recovery), has written Sunday School curriculum for Standard Publishing and David C. Cook Publishers, and been a contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today magazine.
David L. Sibley
David is the Executive Director of Family Resources International, the parent organization of Confident Kids and our newly formed Prevention Partnership International. Dave brings his experience in sales and marketing gained from thirteen years with the Coca-Cola Company and Vice-president of Southern California Safe Company. He is also a co-trainer with Linda in their seminars and training events in the US and Russia.
Rosemary Tisch Prevention and Research Specialist
Rosemary’s expertise provided the foundation of our curriculum development. Her past experiences include the founding of Kids Are Special and Family Education Foundation, which focused on the prevention of substance abuse in high-risk populations (children of alcoholics/addicts, sexually active teens, and individuals with learning differences and those exposed in utero to alcohol and other drugs). She was the chair of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Clinic Development Committee and the Co-Chair of the Santa Clara County Community Learning Assessment Task Force.Rosemary is also a recovering alcoholic with more than twenty years sobriety. Her knowledge of children of alcoholics is enriched by her own experience of raising two daughters.
Julie Scales
Julie is Executive Director of Legacy Foundation located in San Mateo County, CA, a non-profit organization focusing on changing the perception and approach to chemical dependency in the community. Concurrently, she is the Director of The Children’s Place Program, the oldest alcohol/drug prevention education program in the country for children ages 5-13 years. Julie has over twenty years of experience working as a prevention specialist in the field of child abuse and addiction. She is a former program director and trainer for The Child Advocacy Council and The Kids are Special program and has conducted prevention and education training seminars extensively throughout Northern California and in Moscow, Russia.
Betsy Rockett
Betsy serves on the Board of Legacy Foundation and is an addiction specialist with advanced training in alcohol and drug studies. She previously was coordinator of the Family Program of Sequoia Center at El Camino Hospital, an alcohol and drug treatment program.
Betsy is also a recovering alcoholic, a mother of four and grandmother of eight.
Why Work With COA/As (Children of Alcoholics/Addicts)?
Alcoholism and drug addiction is taking a toll on the American family. As a result, 8.3 million children in the United States, approximately 11 percent, live with at least one parent who is in need of treatment for alcohol or drug dependency. One in four children under the age of 18 is living in a home where alcoholism or alcohol abuse is a fact of daily life. Countless others are exposed to illegal drug use in their families.
The toll addiction takes on these children can be substantial. Children of alcoholics/addicts (or COA/As) are at significantly greater risk for:
- mental illness or emotional problems, such as depression or anxiety;
- physical health problems; and
- learning problems, including difficulty with cognitive and verbal skills, conceptual reasoning and abstract thinking.
In addition, children whose parents abuse alcohol or drugs are almost three times more likely to be verbally, physically or sexually abused; and four times more likely than other children to be neglected. Strong scientific evidence also suggests that addiction tends to run in families. COA/As are four times more likely than other children to develop alcoholism or other drug problems. **
The time to heal the damage and break the cycle of dependency is NOW, while they are still young! Kids Like Me! can help make a difference in their lives!!
** Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. You Can Help: A Guide for Caring Adults Working with Young People Experiencing Addiction in the Family (PHD878, (SMA) 01-3544)Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
About Our Logo
Our logo consists of two parts:
- The name: Kids Like Me! was chosen to communicate to COA/As that they are not alone in their situation. Because of the secrecy surrounding addiction issues in families, COA/As often feel alone and isolated. Consequently, they do not receive the support and information they need to help them deal with the disease of chemical dependency. Children’s healing often begins with the simple knowledge that there are thousands of other “Kids Like Me!”
- The World: The problem of addiction is an international one. Throughout the world, kids are in need of help to overcome the effects of living in homes affected by alcohol and drug addictions. If we are to break the cycles of addiction in our world, we must begin with educating and supporting the children!
Program Overview
KLM is:
- A distinctly Christian resource, built on solid Biblical principles. Verses and stories have been carefully selected to meet the needs of COA/As.
- A life skills educational support group program. Research has clearly shown that life skills education is the most effective means of preventing alcohol and drug use in children and teens. Therefore, the curriculum focuses on teaching COA/A’s a comprehensive set of life skills, including an understanding of addiction and how it affects them and their whole family. Children in KLM groups also experience the safe, supportive environment of a support group to share their life experiences and discover they are not alone.
- Built on an open group format. Children may participate in KLM groups whenever their parents bring them. No need for advance registration or a long term commitment. (However, KLM can also be used as a closed group for those who wish to limit the attendance and create greater trust levels in the group.)
- Adaptable for use in groups where the parents are attending recovery groups for issues other than chemical dependency. KLM lessons are primarily life skills lessons applicable to any recovery issue. The curriculum includes three alternate lessons to those that are specific to addiction. These lessons help children understand what it means to have a parent in a recovery group without specifying a particular issue.
Purpose:
The purpose of Kids Like Me! is to give children the support, life skills education, and spiritual foundation they need to live healthy, addiction free lives.
Goals:
Through participation in a Kids Like Me! group children will:
- Have a safe place to talk about their life experiences.
- Realize they are not alone as they share with other children and program facilitators.
- Learn about the disease of chemical dependency and how it affects themselves and their whole family.
- Be equipped with healthy living skills to break the cycle of addiction and co-dependency.
- Discover how prayer, scripture, and a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ are foundational to living a healthy life.
Curriculum: The curriculum is comprised of 13 sessions (a full quarter) with three fully detailed age-graded lesson plans for each session – one for preschool (ages 4-6 years), elementary (ages 7-9 years), and the other for preteens (ages 10-12 years). For more detailed information about the curriculum, click here.
A Comparison of the CK and KLM! Programs
How are CK and KLM similar?
- Both are life skills educational support groups.
- Both are Biblically based and written for use by churches and other Christian organizations.
- Both use carefully chosen content and teaching methodology to address the specific needs of high stress children and families.
How is KLM different from CK?
- Confident Kids is non-issue specific, whereas Kids Like Me! addresses the issue of alcohol and drug abuse in families.
- KLM uses an open group format, meaning anyone can come at any time. This makes it much more suited to the needs of recovery ministries. However, it can also be used in a closed group format, if desired.
- Each CK eight week unit addresses only one life skill, whereas KLM curriculum addresses a different life skill each week, including many that are not addressed in Confident Kids at all.
- CK includes lesson plans for a concurrent parents' group, whereas KLM does not have a parents group at this time. (Parents and teen lessons will be added in the future, making KLM a full family program
Who should use Kids Like Me! ?
- Christian Recovery/Support Group Ministries. KLM is primarily written to address the needs of children living in families with addiction or other recovery issues. Therefore, it is perfect for Christian Recovery Ministries that want to minister to the needs of children rather than simply putting them in childcare!
- Current Confident Kids Ministries. Although KLM is written primarily for recovery settings, it is also an extensive life skills curriculum, including six life skills NOT addressed in CK! This makes it easily adaptable to Confident Kids groups that are looking for more material to add to their programs.
Sample Lesson
To view or download a sample of the KLM curriculum, click here. |
