Norbert A. Wetzel, Th.D.
The workshop will familiarize the participants with conceptual foundation and practical implementation of the Family Empowerment Program (FEP) developed by the Center for Family, Community, and Social Justice, Inc., as a model for working with multi-stressed adolescents and their families. In a context of intersecting systems (schools, families, community, and peer contexts), the center's clinical teams, who regularly encounter crisis situations in the severely disadvantaged communities where they work, are challenged to remain systemic and collaborative while respecting cultural as well as individual and family strengths in the face of multiple societal/institutional obstacles. The efforts and struggles of the center's faculty, supervisors, teams, and families regarding mutual accountability within a social justice framework will be described and exemplified across the multiple layers of their work.