What Is the Smart Steps Program on stepfamilies.info?

Updated

Smart Steps is a featured program of the National Stepfamily Resource Center (stepfamilies.info), designed for remarried or partnering couples and their children. It aims to build couple and family strengths while addressing the unique needs and issues that stepfamilies face. The format is distinctive: children and adults attend parallel sessions and come together at the end for a shared activity. It is relevant if you are part of a stepfamily household—whether newly remarried, cohabiting, or blending families—and want a structured, family-inclusive program rather than couples-only counseling.

Who the program is for

The site describes Smart Steps as intended for:

  • Remarried or partnering couples—couples in a committed relationship where one or both partners bring children from a prior relationship.
  • Their children—children participate alongside the adults, not as spectators.

This makes it a family-level program rather than a couples-only workshop. If you are a stepparent, a biological parent in a blended household, or a child in that household, the program's design assumes all of you are part of the picture.

How the sessions are structured

The core mechanism is a parallel-session model:

  1. Adults and children meet separately in parallel sessions, so each group can work on content suited to their age and role.
  2. The groups come together at the end for a shared activity, giving the family a common experience to carry home.

The site does not specify session length, number of meetings, or cost, so those details would need to be confirmed through the program's own "Learn more about Smart Steps" link on the homepage.

What it focuses on

According to the site, Smart Steps targets two things at once:

  • Building couple and family strengths—the general relational foundations of the household.
  • Addressing stepfamily-specific issues—the needs and problems that are particular to stepfamilies rather than generic to all families.

That dual focus is the reason for the parallel structure: adults work on couple and parenting dynamics while children address their own experience of the stepfamily, then the family reconvenes.

Where to go next on the site

The homepage's Quick Resources section points to related material if you want to explore before committing to a program:

  • Online Training: Understanding Stepfamilies
  • Healthy Communication in Stepfamilies
  • Finding a Stepfamily Therapist
  • Get to Know Your Stepkids
  • ELEVATE: Taking Your Relationship to the Next Level

These are listed as popular topics and training modules, not as substitutes for Smart Steps. If your goal is a therapist rather than a program, the "Finding a Stepfamily Therapist" resource is the more direct route; if your goal is a structured family program, Smart Steps is the featured option.

Practical takeaway

Smart Steps is best understood as a family-inclusive stepfamily program: couples and children learn in separate tracks and reunite for a joint activity, with content aimed at both general family strengths and stepfamily-specific challenges. To decide whether it fits your situation, use the "Learn more about Smart Steps" link on the homepage for current scheduling, format, and enrollment details, since the homepage excerpt does not cover logistics or pricing.