ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an African American-centered value system from which family preservation programs should address the needs of African American families. Clues to the discovery of effective family preservation models for African Americans are found in an examination of strategies already employed by this group. It is sometimes forgotten that most African American families live and prosper as intact units. "On any given day, fully 75 percent of African-American people will be found living in families of one kind or another". Among the many strategies that African Americans have successfully employed to strengthen the family unit is their approach to childrearing. Three aspects of African American childrearing are offered as examples of successful strategies to preserve the family unit: shared parenting, pride in children, and "nurturing firmness" in discipline. Child discipline in African American families goes beyond the purpose of correcting undesirable behavior.
