Building Capacity of Professionals to Strengthen Families

Resources for integrating Strengthening Families into training or professional development

A variety of approaches to build knowledge and capacity

• In-person or online training – In-depth, multi-day or multi-session courses – Half-day stand-alone courses or institutes – Two-hour overview • Coaching to a Strengthening Families approach • Staff meetings, brown bag lunch trainings • Individualized technical assistance • Integration in post-secondary education courses

Core content to be covered in any Strengthening Families training • About Strengthening Families • Protective factors and everyday actions • Tools to support implementation • Opportunities to apply new knowledge and perspective • Links to additional resources

About Strengthening Families

• Use “ Strengthening Families 101 ” slides as appropriate for your audience • Credit to the Center for the Study of Social Policy, and the state and national partners that support your implementation • “Big ideas” behind the initiative: – Protective factors – An approach, not a model – A changed relationship with parents – Alignment with developmental science

Protective factors and everyday actions

http://www.cssp.org/reform/strengthening families/2014/SFProtectiveFactorsExpanded.pptx

Protective factors: Custom slides by field

• CSSP also provides additional slides customized for specific fields: – What we might see in the families we work with related to each protective factor – Specific actions a caseworker, teacher, etc., can take related to each protective factor

Tools to support implementation • Training should always point people to tools that will help them make the shifts in their practice • CSSP and partners have developed tools – both general and for specific fields – Program self-assessments (for center-based early care and education, family child care, home visiting, community-based programs) – Family assessment tools (adaptations of existing tools) – Accountability tools (Protective Factors Survey, staff survey) – System-level tools (contracting/RFP guide, leadership team tools)

Opportunities to apply new knowledge and perspective • We all learn better with opportunities to reflect, process, think through application to our own lives and daily practice • Always include activities that engage participants and help them reflect on: – The protective factors in their own lives – Possible applications in their work – Application to concrete situations they encounter

Links to additional resources

• Training participants should always learn about the wealth of resources available at www.strengtheningfamilies.net

• Other relevant resources from national partners, state level partners, etc.

Beyond training: Coaching to a Strengthening Families approach

• Supervisors play an important role in ongoing professional development – Administrative (e.g., integration of protective factors into tools and processes) – Educational (e.g., directly providing or supporting participation in training; sharing information in supervision) – Supportive (e.g., helping workers practice self-care; reflection on cases and experiences; review of training portfolio)

Informing our thinking on using Strengthening Families in supervisory practice

Coaching Reflective Supervision Critical Thinking Changes in worker attitudes, behaviors and skills

Common Elements

• Worker is supported in examining their own thoughts, patterns and behaviors • Core of supervision is built around the challenges worker is facing on the ground • Supervisee leads the process • Relationship mirrors the relationship we are striving for with parents

Resources in the field to support professional development

• Online training: www.ctfalliance.org/training • Trainings of trainers and/or materials offered by: – National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds – Idaho Toolbox Training – Massachusetts Children’s Trust – Be Strong Families – ZERO TO THREE • Guidance for supervisors in child welfare is coming soon to www.strengtheningfamilies.net

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-the-Study-of-Social-Policy https://twitter.com/CtrSocialPolicy www.cssp.org

www.strengtheningfamilies.net