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California Parenting Institute
Strengthening Families by Building Protective Factors
MAY 2011
Grace Harris, Director of Programs [email protected](707) 585-6108 x103 www.calparents.org
“Our mission is to treat and prevent child abuse by nurturing and advocating for the health of children, parents and families.”
Strengthening FamiliesThe Heart of the Approach
Levers for Change
Parent PartnershipsIllinois and Washington have adapted anapproach to
organize conversations with parents that focus on building protective factors. Kansas launched a research initiative to better understand how parents access support.
Professional DevelopmentAlaska is integrated social work and early childhood
coursework. Missouri and Arkansas are adapting child care resource and referral contracts to provide incentives for offering training on the protective factors.
Policies and SystemsMassachusetts has aligned $15 million in contracts from three
separate funding sources around building protective factors. Georgia is also considering something similar with child care licensing procedures.
Promoting the Five Protective Factors:For each protective factor, the focus is on helping
parents identify and build on their own strengths and on empowering them to identify the best strategies to help them enhance their parenting capacity. This gives the provider the opportunity to work in partnership with the parents and family in order to explore opportunities for growth and support.
Protective Factor Defined
Parental Resilience The ability to cope and bounce back form all kinds of challenges
Social Connections Friends, family, neighbors, and other members of a community who provide emotional support and concrete assistance to parents
Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
Accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior
Concrete Support in Times of Need
Financial security to cover day-to-day expenses and unexpected costs that come up from time to time, access to formal supports like TANF and Medicaid, and informal support form social networks
Social and Emotional Competence of Children
A child’s ability to interact positively with others and communicate his or her emotions effectively
Strengthening FamiliesGuiding Principles
All families have strengths
All families need support
The Protective Factors support in the prevention of child abuse
Shift focus from family support to family strengthening
Protective Factors become core of our community’s strategies
Implications
Putting it into practice . . . . Staff and families work together in
relationships based on equality and
respect.
Staff enhance families’ capacity to
support the growth and development of
all family members – adults, youth, and
children.
Families are resources to their own
members, to other families, to
programs, and to communities.
Programs affirm and strengthen families’
cultural, racial, and linguistic identities and
enhance their ability to function in a
multicultural society.
Programs are embedded in
communities and contribute to the
community-building process.
Putting it into Practice – continued
Programs are flexible and continually
responsive to emerging family and
community issues.
Principles of family support are modeled in
all program activities, including planning,
governance, and administration.
Programs advocate with families for services
and systems that are fair, responsive, and
accountable to the families served.
Practitioners work with families to mobilize
formal and informal resources to support
family development.
Provide informal space for parents to “hang out”
Blend social and parent education activities
How you can help parents develop social connections
Organize structured activities that bring parents together, including fathers
Reach out to isolated parents
Teach social and emotional skills
Help parents appreciate their children’s strengths
Work with parents, children, and professionals to address challenging behaviors
How you can promotesocial-emotional competence
in children
Concrete Support in Times of Need
Food, shelter, clothing Job training Health Education Substance Abuse Mental Health Domestic Violence Specialized Services for Children
Model/teach healthy coping skills
Show parents: They are valued Staff is concerned about them Help is available
Build trusting relationships
Provide extra support for those parents who need it
How you can help build parental resilience