This overview examines underlying precepts and components of family support programs. The role of the family in a child's resistance to alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse is discussed. Comprehensive prevention programs encompassing the family, school, and community have shown more promise in helping children avoid AOD abuse than programs that rely on one approach. Highlighted are six such comprehensive programs: (1) Families Matter!, a parent involvement component of an AOD prevention program in Wilmington, Delaware, designed for high-risk families; (2) Asian Youth Substance Abuse Project, a joint effort among drug treatment agencies serving at-risk Asian youth in San Francisco; (3) Bankhead Courts/Inner City Families in Action, a program serving African American families living in public housing in Atlanta, Georgia; (4) Families and Schools Together, a collaborative effort among elementary schools, a mental health agency, an AOD prevention agency, and families in Madison, Wisconsin, to assist students at risk for involvement with AOD; (5) Illinois Network to Organize the Understanding of Community Health (In Touch)--a collaborative effort in the state of Illinois to provide the structure, resources, and training for community-based AOD prevention programs; and (6) the American Indian Prevention and Treatment Program, which serves poverty-level native Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Four resource organizations that may be consulted for additional information on family support and AOD are profiled. (SM)