Breaking Cycles and Building Confidence: How Triple P at Compass Family Services builds Family Connection

At Compass Family Services, we aim to support parents by helping them heal, connect, and grow alongside their families. Central to this mission is Triple P, or the Positive Parenting Program, a 12-week evidence-based course designed to equip parents with the skills and confidence to help families raise healthy, resilient children.  

What is Triple P? 

Developed in Australia more than 30 years ago to assist highest-risk families, Triple P is now implemented in over 25 countries and is one of the most rigorously evaluated parenting programs in the world. At Compass, we tailor the program to support families facing housing instability, generational trauma, involvement with Child Protective Services, and mental health or substance use issues to help create stronger, more connected family systems.  

Learning Through Connection 

The program begins with a pre-course evaluation that invites parents to reflect on their emotional well-being, their relationships with their children, and their own upbringing. The program is then divided into two parts. 

• The first five weeks focus on understanding child behavior, developmental stages, responding to defiance, and establishing routines.  

• The second half encourages deeper reflection on personal parenting patterns, exploring questions such as: How were you parented? What messages did you internalize? How do these patterns influence your parenting today? 

Francisco Ferrer, our lead facilitator, emphasizes building parenting skills to nurture healthy family relationships. He makes Triple P sessions interactive by including a range of exercises like role-playing, group discussions, and videos. To further support this learning process, Francisco prioritizes creating a collaborative and engaging environment and deliberately avoids a traditional lecture format to "help parents discover what works best for their families." 

This kind of supportive, hands-on environment is especially important for parents who have experienced trauma. Many participants face significant challenges such as unemployment, housing insecurity, or involvement with family court. However, regardless of how they arrive, all parents are welcomed into the space with a hot meal and open conversation, a ritual that Francisco emphasizes is essential to building trust within the program: “That meal matters,” he explains. “It shows parents they are cared for... and they appreciate this structure in their day.” 

Celebrating Success 

The program concludes with a graduation ceremony where certificates are awarded, reflections are shared, and small gifts such as toys or gift cards are given. Francisco reflects, “This is my favorite part. For some parents, it is the first time they have ever graduated from anything. It gives them proof that they committed to something and succeeded.”