An Overview of the Family Support Field and the Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support

• What is the history and current landscape of the Family Support and Strengthening Field?

• What are Family Resource Centers and how are they networked across the country?

• What does it mean to be a quality Family Strengthening and Support Program and how can managers, direct service staff, and families work together to develop and sustain quality programs?

For answers to these questions and more, please join us to learn about the history of Family Support and Strengthening field, the work of Family Support Programs, Family Support and Strengthening Networks, and the National Family Support Network, and an overview of the nationally-adopted Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support.

The history of the Family Support and Strengthening field in the United States goes back more than 100 years to the settlement house movement. Today, there are more than 3,000 Family Support and Strengthening organizations across the country, such as Family Resource Centers. These organizations work with families in a multigenerational, family-centered approach to enhance parenting skills, foster the healthy development and wellbeing of children, youth, and families, prevent child abuse, increase school readiness, connect families to resources, develop parent and community leadership, engage males and fathers, support healthy marital and couples relationships, and promote family economic success.

The Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support were issued by the California Network of Family Strengthening Networks in 2012, and adopted by the National Family Support Network in 2013. They are the first and only standards in the country to integrate and operationalize the Principles of Family Support Practice with the Strengthening Families Framework and its research-based evidence-informed 5 Protective Factors. The vision is that their implementation will help ensure that families are supported and strengthened through quality practice.

The Standards are designed to be used by all stakeholders – public departments, foundations, community-based organizations, and parents – across different kinds of Family Strengthening and Family Support programs as a tool for planning, providing, and assessing quality practice. The Standards create common language and expectations in the Family Support and Strengthening field across different kinds of programs, such as Family Resource Centers, home visiting programs, and child development programs.

The Standards have been adopted across the country at the state, county, city, and individual program levels. More than 4,400 people have successfully completed the Standards Certification Training in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Many more have been introduced to them through conferences, webinars, and downloading them online. The Standards, implementation tools, and more information can be found here.

You can view a 14 min video that articulates the connection between the Strengthening Families Protective Factors and the Standards here.

Who Should Participate:

National, state, and local policymakers, public departments, Children's Trust Fund staff, private funders, Family Support and Strengthening Network leaders and representatives, Family Support and Strengthening Program management staff

Presenters:

• Andrew Russo, Co-Founder & Director, National Family Support Network
• Samantha Florey, Director of Training, National Family Support Network
• Julie Matusick, Membership & Administration Manager, National Family Support Network

Webinars Wednesdays

This webinar is part of the National Family Support Network's Webinar Wednesday series. More information about the NFSN's virtual events may be found here.