Presentation Transcript

1. Strengthening Families Collaboration for Results Erwin McEwen Judy Langford October 2013
2. DCFS should not be in the business of raising children, it should be in the business of strengthening families.“Primary responsibility for the development and well-being of children lies within the family, and all segments of society must support families as they rear their children.” -Family Resource Coalition, 1996
3. Vision for IDCFS Department that is approachable Can provide help and support to parents who are stressed and struggling to meet the needs of their children vs. Department that “Takes away your kids”
4. Goals 1. Prevent families from coming into care 2. Help families in care reunite as soon as possible
5. Current research speaks to the short comings of: Investigations Foster Care Neglect Response
6. Mobilizing partners, communities and families to build family strengths, promote optimal development and reduce child abuse and neglect
7. The beginning. . . Strengthening Families™ began as a search for a new approach to child maltreatment prevention that: Was systematic and national Reached large numbers of young children, long before abuse or neglect could occur Promoted healthy child development and well-being Which meant reaching out to parents in new ways, as early as possible
8. Questions to be answered via research Why do some young children and their families thrive in spite of adversity? Are there family attributes that protect children from adverse experiences and maltreatment? Are there factors that increase the likelihood of well-being and healthy development for young children?
9. A practical approach for big impact Start with what ALL families need to be successful. Outline what ALL kinds of programs and services should be building with families. Look for clues where families already have comfortable relationships, e.g. early care and education or family resource programs Build a new perspective into existing programs and strategies; don’t invent a new model
10. A Protective (and Promotive) Factors Approach Risk Factors Protective and Promotive Factors Protective Factors: conditions or attributes of individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that mitigate or eliminate risk Promotive Factors: conditions or attributes of individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that actively enhance well-being
11. five Research “buckets” PARENTAL RESILIENCE SOCIAL CONNECTIONS KNOWLEDGE of PARENTING and CHILD DEVELOPMENT CONCRETE SUPPORT in TIMES of NEED SOCIAL and EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE of CHILDREN
12. Resilience The process of managing stress and functioning well even when faced with challenges, adversity, and trauma
13. Family Social Connections Community Social Institutions Peers School Other Adults
14. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
15. Concrete Support in Times of Need
16. Social-Emotional Competence in Children
17. Questions?
18. So what do these Protective Factors really look like in the real life of programs working with families?
19. Small but significant changes
20. Parent leaders, state agencies and local programs quickly adapted the framework to create a platform for linkages across service systems and a way of engaging informal opportunities for families.
21. Building bridges Multidisciplinary leadership plus public and private funders and many organizations – and families themselves Need for common language, common approach across systems and disciplines – and connected to communities SF as a platform for collaboration around families Maternal and Child Health Early childhood programs and communities Child welfare goal of well-being, esp. young children
22. Strengthening Families2013 WA VT MN MT ND ME NY WI NH OR MI SD ID MA PA WY CT RI DE MD IA OH NE IL NJ NV UT KY IN DC CO KS NC WV MO VA CA TN SC OK AR AZ NM MS GA AL TX LA FL AK State Network Members HI Emerging States Some implementation activities
23. State Use Strengthening Families Early Care and Education Training, contracts, QRIS, FFN support Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Contracts, planning, training, program improvement Child Welfare Contracts, assessments, differential response Maternal and Child Health Home visiting, ECCS planning
24. Bringing the Protective FactorsFramework to Life in Your Work Online training to support implementation of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework in multiple settings Systems may use for awarding CEUs, credit Free of charge 7 courses,each about2 hours in length Introduction to the Framework (also useful as a stand-alone orientation) A course on each of the 5 Protective Factors A wrap-up course that moves users from knowledge to action Find at www.ctfalliance.org/onlinetraining Contact onlinelinetraining@ctfalliance.org
25. Cross system initiatives Help Me Grow, an innovative strategy to link families with community resources through their medical providers, is partnering with SF in 18 state pilots. In many states county or community-level planning processes use the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework to guide their work Child welfare, mental health, and probation are incorporating the Strengthening Families framework into their common program planning, practice models and training. 35,000 people in multiple settings received training on Strengthening Families in 2012 (23 states)
26. Los Angeles: strengthening families across systems and communities LA County Board of Supervisors: SF Learning Community Across Departments serving young children and their families LA Department of Children and Family Services: Adopted as part of Strategic plan, Practice Model (along with Probation and Mental Health), integrated into community contracts for PSSF/CAPIT Early Childhood Funding Partnership Los Angeles Unified School District Head Start Magnolia Place Community First Five: LA Partnerships for Families and Best Start Community Initiative
27. Parental Resilience = Be strong and flexible Social Connections = Parents need friends Knowledge of Parenting = Being a great parent is part natural and part learned Concrete Support = We all need help sometimes Social and emotional development for children = Help your children communicate and give them the love and respect they need
28. System Integration in Illinois Strengthening Families Illinoisestablished in 2006 with the overarching framework to build: -Parental Resilience -Social Connections -Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development -Concrete Support in Times of Need -Social and Emotional Competence of Children -Healthy Parent-Child Relationships Trauma Informed Practice Programinfused throughout rules, assessments, services plans and case work practice
29. Strategies Strengthening Families Initiative Family Advocacy Centers Differential Response Trauma Initiative Partnership with Schools DCFS/DJJ Collaboration Performance Based Contracting & Evaluation Statewide Provider Database
30. Strengthening Families Illinois 14 early childhood learning networks around the state engaging over 140 early childhood programs and centers serving approximately 11,000 families (DCFS Added 4 in FY 2011) Regional parent engagement coordinators involving and mobilizing parent leaders who want to strengthen their families and communities Local collaboration with schools, early childhood networks, home visitors, Differential Response, Family Advocacy Centers on Love Is Not Enough parent cafes and Awaken to Your Potential As a Person, As a Parent, As a Leader leadership training Over 7,000 individuals have attended Love Is Not Enough Parent Cafes Over 500 trained parent leaders on café Over 4,200 parents recruited as part of statewide leadership team committed to strong families and communities
31. Communities
32. Long Term Vision Child welfare – continuously define and refine child welfare so that it becomes more closely aligned to child well-being (Don’t always achieve child well-being using best child welfare tools.) Broad-based community impact around: School performance School misconduct Youth violence Community violence Family well-being Optimum Child Development Requires all of us!
33. Leadership from state teams and parents led to a “self-organizing” national tipping point, quickly supported by key national organizations and nimble federal partners
34. STRENGTHENING FAMILIES NATIONAL NETWORK
35. Federal partners Administration for Children, Youth and Families: Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect Administration on Children and Families, Office of Child Care and Office of Head Start Maternal and Child Health Bureau; ECCS and home visiting grants Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Project Launch Department of Defense New Parents Program and Family Advocacy Program Department of Education Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grants; Promise Neighborhoods
36. The Quality Improvement Center on Early Childhood (QIC-EC) Five-year cooperative agreementbetween the Children’s Bureau (ACF, USDHHS) and the Center for the Study of Social Policy, in partnership with ZERO TO THREE and the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds, with matching funds provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
37. Erwin McEwen Judy Langford Center for the Study of Social Policy judy.langford@cssp.org www.strengtheningfamilies.net