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Family prevention programs need to be evidence-based in order to guarantee the success of their implementation. The Family Competence Program (FCP), a Spanish cultural adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), has developed different measures and processes to gauge the quality of the implementation. This article is dedicated specifically to two of these measures: the evaluation of the facilitators and the assessment of the family engagement techniques. For evaluating the facilitators, a Delphi technique with experts and professionals is undertaken. For assessing the family techniques, both self-evaluation of trainers and evaluation by families are used. Finding underpin that, in the case of facilitators, is important that, after to skills and experience, they need to understand the theory of change of the program. In the case of family engagement techniques, more detailed, comprehensive talks, discussions and group activities lead to better family engagement outcomes.

In the research about evidence-based, family-centric prevention programs, there are several bibliographies related to program contents and family results. Yet, less information is found about program facilitators, who are key to effective implementation and delivery of these programs. To identify the principal qualities that define a good facilitator, as well as the best methodologies for assessing the facilitators' work, a consensus-building process between 16 experts-the Delphi technique-was employed. The Delphi approach included a baseline document and a questionnaire about facilitators and evaluation methodologies for assessing their role in family-centric prevention programs. The study's participants (a) highly ranked the importance of a facilitator's interpersonal skills and experience in family interventions and (b) suggested that facilitators are best assessed using qualitative techniques such as observation and focus groups. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE •In family-centric prevention efforts, comparative program assessments made by qualified experts and experienced instructors help to establish valid selection criteria for potential future instructors. At the same time, these criteria form a self-assessment tool for active instructors.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to first assess the long-term effects of the adaptation of the American Strengthening Families Programme in Spain (known as the Programa de Competencia Familiar, translated into English as the Family Competence Programme (FCP)). The second aim is to identify family typologies and family changes regarding family competence over time. The paper’s initial hypothesis is that families have different behaviours and take advantage of the FCP in different ways. Design/methodology/approach – Monitored applications of the FCP were conducted using a quasi-experimental design consisting of a control group and pre-test, post-test and two-year follow-up assessments. The sample was made up of 136 families who took part in the programme and another 18 who participated in the control groups. Validated instruments were applied to assess the methodological processes and the family assessments. A cluster analysis was undertaken to identify different family typologies and their evolution in relation to the FCP goals. Findings – The FCP shows effective and consistent results over time for families in a variety of difficult situations, with important result maintenance. The longitudinal analysis (i.e. the two-year follow-up) demonstrates that the majority of changes identified (using the factors under consideration) maintained their relevance for most of the families, producing positive change. Originality/value – There is little long-term evaluation or longitudinal analysis of family prevention programmes that are evidence-based and include cognitive-emotional content. This paper analyses the long-term evaluation of family prevention programmes and identifies the ways in which families change over time.

In recent years, family resilience has come to be seen as more of a process than an outcome. This process involves different family members who receive training during the course of family prevention programs. The Family Competence Program is a Spanish cultural adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program, which uses a Family Strengths and Resilience Scale. With this scale of 11 items, encompassing aspects such as communication, cohesion and family organization or parental skills, changes in family resilience were measured before and after the application of the program. The results point to positive changes. Potential links with family vulnerability were also tested, but the results of the study do not suggest any association between resilience and family vulnerability.