Taking a Community Approach to Strengthening

Families

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this module the participant will be able to:• Describe what a Strengthening Families approach looks

like at a community level• Understand what some community approaches look like

around the country• Facilitate Strengthening Families engagement at a

community level

Communities

• Individual outreach to families in one’s network• Everyday actions among neighbors, friends, community members, etc.Individual

Actors

• Community activities that build protective factors• Small changes in service structure to build protective factors• Protective factors aligned activities and services available in community

settings (e.g. grocery stores, parks)

Community

Institutions

• Integrate protective factors into assessment• Small changes in service structure to build protective factors• Collaborations around protective factors

Service Programs

A case example: Magnolia Place, Los Angeles,

CaliforniaWhat would it take to have the 35,000 children living in the neighborhoods within the 5-square mile/500 blocks of the Magnolia Catchment Area break all records of success in their education and their health, and the quality of nurturing care and economic stability they receive from their families and community?

• Use Strengthening Families protective factors as a philosophy to align practice among a network of 75 providers

• Baseline survey of 800 individuals on protective factors• Café conversations with community members about what protective factors mean

to them• Dashboard—to examine monthly success in engaging families around protective

factors• Using the Early Development Instrument to measure impact on school readiness

Service Programs

Shared Outcomes

and Measures

A case example: Fremont, Colorado

Fremont County in Colorado has embraced Strengthening Families as part of a federal early childhood-child welfare grant. They provided incentives to encourage all child and family serving professionals in the county to complete the online “Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work” training from the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds as a first step toward building stronger relationships across systems.

• All child and family serving agencies signed off on using the protective factors framework

• 2-day training provided across child and family serving staff• Staff used paid time to participate in the on-line Strengthening Families training• A $25 stipend was given upon completion and the participant was entered into a

drawing to win an iPad to use in their work with children and families.

Service Programs

A case example: Brevard County, FL

The Brevard Family Partnership, a community-based organization that delivers child welfare services in Brevard County, Florida, launched a “trauma-informed care youth summit” in which over 400 leaders across the community have twice gathered to respond to youth recommendations of what they need to succeed and thrive. • Community dialogue led by successful young leaders who grew up in foster care.• Resulted in action steps to be pursued through the system of care including

service providers, churches, government leaders, educators, business executives and other stakeholders.

• Youth Thrive committee meets monthly. Goal is to engage the whole community in helping youth to manage risk and move towards resilience.

Service Programs

A case example: Baptist Convention of New Jersey

In October of 2014, the General Baptist Convention of New Jersey voted to become Strengthening Families churches. The pastor of each of these churches will sign a covenant to promote the protective factors of families in their congregations. Reverend Darrell Armstrong, an early adopter of Strengthening Families, developed the covenant as a tool to engage clergy of any faith tradition in helping families to build protective factors as part of their ministry.

• Over 300 churches in NJ will sign the covenant• Covenant is available online for any clergy member to sign• Protective factors have been aligned to key passages from scripture• Training available for clergy and lay faith leaders on how to implement a

protective factors approach in their work with parishioners

Community

Institutions

A case example: Leelanau, Michigan

When the Leelanau Children’s Center, one of the early Strengthening Families exemplary programs, decided they wanted to bring Strengthening Families to their community, they started making some unusual partnerships. For example, they knew traditional parenting education classes often face attrition and difficulty attracting the very families that need the support the most. So they teamed up with the local laundromat and pizza parlor to host a family night with conversation about common parenting issues. The pizza and laundry are free and the events are packed.

• Building protective factors in places where families already go• Partnership with service providers and community institutions

Community

Institutions

A case example: Bronx, New York

The Next Generation Center, a signature program of the Children’s Aid Society, was established to address the special needs of New York City’s youth in foster care as they transition to adulthood. Next Gen strives to improve outcomes for young people across three key domains: education, employment and life skills by intentionally connecting young people to positive institutions (schools, work, family) and diverting them from negative influences (crime, gangs).

• Recreation, social support, employment training, education and coaching

• Use of restorative practices to address problems with youth when the arise

Community

Institutions

A case example: Charlevoix, Michigan

When the Great Start Collaborative in Charlevoix, Michigan decided that they wanted to take on Strengthening Families, they didn’t want it to be something that only service providers were doing they wanted it to be something that everyone was talking about. They developed an engaging set of posters, a website with individual actions you can take and a freecycle campaign for families to exchange books and other resources.

• Public education campaign to build broad awareness of the protective factors• Freecycle campaign as a way to take individual action to support others around

them

Community

Insitutions

Individual Actors

Case example:

Connect the Dots is a national effort organized around the simple idea that we all have a role to play in making our communities places where children and families can thrive. The goal is to lift up everyday actions that individuals are already taking to build protective factors and support the families around them, and to help build connections between individuals and organizations who are taking these actions.

• Focus on individual actions anyone can take• Intentional use of social media as a platform for engaging individuals• Desire to create an interactive platform where individuals can be

inspired by the actions of others, and mobilized to act for policy changes that will help children and families thrive

Community

Insitutions

Individual Actors

www.whatsyourdot.org

Engaging the public in prevention and strengthening families

• Affirm• Empower• Educate

Individual Actions

• Sense of connectedness

• Relationships

Community

Engagement

• Engage in issues

• Mobilize

Policy Advocacy

Mentoring

What’s your dot?

A case example: Jacksonville, Florida

Just Like Me is a three-week cultural arts and education summer camp for youth involved in the foster care system to help them develop their artistic talents and gain skills such as trust, teamwork, problem solving and decision-making.

• Each youth participant has the opportunity to work with artists from the local community and leaves camp with a product of their work

• Culminating performance for an enthusiastic audience of family, foster parents, staff, media and community members

Community

Insitutions

Individual Actors

Building blocks for a community effort

• Leadership team to coordinate the effort• Structure for mutual accountability to the protective

factors• Shared training around protective factors• Messaging and communication tools• Parent-to-parent approaches (such as cafés)

What are Cafés?

• Based on World Café Model• Method of guided conversations

about topics that matter• Promotes the Strengthening

Families Protective Factor Framework

• Builds collective wisdom• Fosters parent leadership and

parent-practitioner partnership• Promotes growth and action

A family support system: What does it look like?

Light touch family support in the settings

families are in every day

Navigation supports to help make the connections

Support to these settings from more intensive family support resources (Family resource centers, Home Visiting)