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CAFY News and Events

Open Parent Meeting

On Thursday Jan. 12th at 7 p.m at the Acton Public Safety Building on 371 Main Street, CAFY will host an Open Parent Meeting to discuss the Acton-Boxborough Parent Survey Results, plan new initiatives and add volunteers to the CAFY Board. RSVP to Bob McGowan, Chair of the CAFY Board. More...

Acton-Boxborough Parent Survey Results

Read the SUMMARY REPORT

ABCHY & CAFY collaborated last spring to conduct a survey of Acton-Boxborough parents of teens. The survey focused on what parents are doing to promote the health and wellness of their teens and to reduce risky teen behavior. It also focused on the major concerns that parents have related to this topic and what they believe that parents, the schools, ABCHY and CAFY, and the community-at-large should do to help ensure the health and wellness of our teens. Three-hundred-and-thirty-eight parents of 6th-12th grade students completed the survey.

Loving Your Teen Without Losing Your Mind

On October 13, Dr. Michael J. Bradley offered an empowering program to help parents raise their 21st century teens into strong, confident and productive adults. Watch the full video.

Dr. Bradley offers Parent Forums on his website.

Welcome to CAFY

The Community Alliance For Youth (CAFY) promotes wellness for young people in Acton and Boxborough. Our charter is to help youngsters make healthy decisions as they mature to adults, and to help parents learn how to support the healthy behavior and address the high-risk behavior of their children. Read about the 2009-2010 CAFY Programs in the CAFY brochure. See our Teen Resources and Parent Resources including links about Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying and the Teen Resource Card.

Sign Up for CAFY's SAFE HOMES Program

CAFY's SAFE HOMES Program is a support network for Acton-Boxborough parents who are concerned about alcohol and drug use at pre-teen and teen parties and gatherings. Families who join SAFE HOMES promise to provide a safe and supervised home for teen parties.

To learn more, read the CAFY SAFE HOMES SAFE HOMES brochure. To sign up, fill out the pledge form and mail it in, or click the button below to sign up online.

We encourage you to sign up for the SAFE HOMES Program in support of the youth in our communities. Every month, we will update the latest SAFE HOMES Directory which lists the SAFE HOMES in our communities. For more information about SAFE HOMES, parent-teen communication tips, strategies for hosting and attending teen parties, and other CAFY initiatives, please read the CAFY press.

Why SAFE HOMES?

According to the Acton-Boxborough Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)...
 63% of students in grades 9-12 have tried alcohol and 30% have tried marijuana
 29% in grades 9-12 and 42% in grade 12 have attended parties in homes where parents allowed liquor
 23% in grades 9-12 and 44% in grade 12 have engaged in binge drinking in the past 12 months.

Parental supervision at teen events can help reduce the risk!

What Can I Do?

Parents have the most influence over whether or not their adolescents engage in risky behaviors. Joining SAFE HOMES will...
 Remind your teens that you do not support underage alcohol consumption or illegal drug use.
 Help you feel more comfortable when your children attend parties at SAFE HOMES.
 Make it clear that you oppose anyone providing liquor to teens and that you expect parental supervision at teen parties.

To learn more about CAFY or if you would like to help with this on-going community initiative, please contact Tina Grosowsky, CAFY Chair, at info@cafy.net.