Our PAT Program

For many years, PEPS has heard from families there is a gap in peer-support services for parents and caregivers of adolescents and teens. This feedback is backed up by research. PEPS has supported thousands of new parents through their parenthood journey. We have been very excited to respond to this developing need by embracing the opportunity and responsibility to support families with adolescents and teens.

With generous grants from King County Best Starts for Kids and the Jolene McCaw Foundation, PEPS has been able to develop a program to support parents of adolescents and teens. We are so grateful for this extended financial support as it has allowed us to build capacity on our staff and gather insights to develop, pilot, and implement a new program to offer facilitated peer-support groups to support families in this parenting stage.

Program Development and Design

In January 2020, PEPS initiated program development with research and information gathering. Our organization collected data through focus groups across socio-economic and ethnic groups with parents, teens, pre-teens, and experts. We also conducted online surveys, interviews with community-based organizations serving parents of adolescents and teens, as well as a landscape analysis.

By the winter of 2021, work on the program design had begun. The formulation of curriculum and a blueprint for brand new discussion topics were developed, using resources from other evidence-based programs, along with guidance from professionals in family therapy and adolescent and teen mental health. Knowing that group facilitation might look different for this demographic, we modified and tailored the Group Leader training further.

Over nine months, PEPS offered 18 virtual pilot groups to more than 115 families in 2021. We continuously evaluated and adapted the program during this time based on the observations, feedback, and information collected from participants and Group Leaders.

Parents and caregivers of adolescents and teens will now be able to participate in a nine-week program virtually that includes time to share highs and lows and weekly conversations on more than 14 discussion topics. Each meeting will be led by a Group Leader trained in adolescent development and group facilitation.

PEPS strives to strengthen family relationships, reduce parental isolation, and improve the mental well-being and relationships between youth and parents through our unique program. Our vision includes providing a space that will support the needs of both parents and youth during this transitional time in a family’s life.

Interested in joining the PAT Program? Register today! 

Looking for more information and resources about parenting an adolescent? Check out our resource list for parents of adolescents and teens. 

 “…I found that learning alongside and making connections with other parents of teens is such a powerful way to increase my skills and confidence as a parent. Just knowing…that we all encounter challenges and can face them together…makes it easier to handle the challenges.”   — Pilot PAT Program participant