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Lynn McDonald

Recent school violence has shattered the public’s perception that their children are safe.

The roots of violence can often be traced to the family and the neighborhood. Parents are often too busy to spend time with their children, and neighbors do not know one another. Stretched thin by the demands of work and family and struggling to survive economically, parents find less and less time to socialize with other parents. The recent book Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam (Simon & Schuster, 2000) documents the deterioration of friendships and other reciprocal relationships—social capital—in U.S. communities. People in schools and communities risk health and safety without the protection of networks of trusting relationships. Without social support, parents cannot provide enough support for their children as they face developmental stresses. Without caring parents, youth move toward dark futures of school failure, delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, and even violence.

To prevent these root causes from taking hold, WCER Senior Scientist Lynn McDonald initiated a school and community program in 1988 called Families and Schools Together (FAST). McDonald developed the FAST program to enhance children’s academic and social performance. FAST programs build relationships among parents, schools, and the community. Multiple families gather once a week for 8 weeks to share a meal and participate in a variety of structured social activities, including music, drawing, family games, children’s sports, and opportunities for parents to interact in activities that apply theory and research. Students who have participated in the FAST program experience fewer behavioral problems and show improved academic performance.

To prevent violence and delinquency, McDonald says, it’s important to work with younger children and their family networks. Early in children’s lives, protective factors can make a big difference in development. Children in kindergarten and first grade are at an ideal age, and schools are an ideal location for intervention, with families having a central role. All kindergarten children should have the chance to go to FAST,” McDonald says.

This past winter saw the completion of four multiyear research studies that used randomized trials to assess the impact of FAST. The studies evaluated the multicultural FAST program in 9 New Orleans schools, 10 inner-city Milwaukee schools, 3 rural Wisconsin schools serving Native Americans, and 9 Madison schools. The results of these studies are consistent: More than one year after FAST, teachers and parents report FAST children show a statistically significant decrease in mental health indicators of risk for negative outcomes when compared with control group children. In some instances, the control group children showed significant increases in behavioral problems over time, compared with the FAST children.

If a family attends one FAST meeting, there is an 80% chance the family will graduate from the full 8-week program. The high retention rate is unusual, especially for stressed, low-income families. Two years after graduating, 86% of parent participants report that they are still seeing friends they made through FAST. Parents become friends and support one another over time. Some become community leaders. Using schools as community-based structures helps create outreach to families and becomes a viable approach for national replication.

The growth of FAST

At WCER, McDonald directs the national dissemination of FAST. The program has been disseminated to more than 600 communities in 38 states, 4 Indian nations, and 5 other countries. A recent $1.9 million grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, has enabled the launch of FAST as a major initiative, ensuring the quality of replicating this evidence-based model.

In June, FAST officially became a model program for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Wisconsin was just awarded a federal State Incentive Grant ($3 million annually for 3 years) to disseminate CSAP model programs across Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services has been designated to administer the grant.

Recognizing the program’s success, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said:

"Communities across the country should insist upon and work toward excellence in helping children to succeed at school and at home, reduce drug and alcohol abuse, and reduce stress and social isolation. Families and Schools Together (FAST) and other programs supported by the Federal government have shown that prevention is possible and models of excellence are available."

The state of Wisconsin allocated FAST $1 million annually from 1990 to 2000, and in 1994 then Governor Tommy Thompson was recognized by Harvard University and the Ford Foundation’s Innovations in American Government awards competition for that statewide FAST initiative. Now four other states have statewide FAST initiatives. With the support of Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), FAST has received national recognition and federal research and development support since 1991.

Bipartisan political support and funding from the United Way, foundations, local and state governments, and the federal government have helped FAST grow over time. In September 2000, McDonald was awarded a grant for work in Moscow by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. National Institutes of Health, through the U.S.-Russia Competitive Program. Eleven FAST families graduated in Moscow in December 2001, and McDonald visited there to conduct FAST training this spring. She also received a grant for adapting FAST to work with Hmong immigrant students and their families in Madison, Wisconsin, in conjunction with the United Refugee Services; this grant was awarded by the Center for Mental Health Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition to her duties as WCER Senior Scientist, McDonald is a part-time faculty member at Madison’s Edgewood College in the Graduate Program in Family Therapy, and is president of the board of directors of the nonprofit FAST International, which maintains quality assurance for the dissemination of FAST.

For more information, contact McDonald at mrmcdona@facstaff.wisc.edu or visit the FAST Web site at www.wcer.wisc.edu/FAST.