STRENGTHENING FAMILIES
Increasing Positive Outcomes For Children And Families
Children are more likely to thrive when their families have the support they need.
That's why all of the services we provide are developed using the
Strengthening Families framework. The Strengthening Families framework is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.
At the center of the Strengthening Families framework are the Five Protective Factors. Research shows that these protective factors are “promotive” factors, building on family strengths and creating a family environment that promotes
optimal child and youth development.
The Strengthening Families Five Protective Factors are:
The Strengthening Families Five Protective Factors are:
Parental Resilience
The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges.
Social Connections
Friends, family members, neighbors and other members of the 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/development.
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 from social networks.
Children’s Social and Emotional DevelopmentA child’s ability to interact positively with others.
Opportunities to get involved
Are you looking to get more involved with Project ABC's playgroups and services? Contact us and find out more about our volunteering, translating, and organizing opportunities for parents and caregivers.
The Center for the Study of Social Policy
To learn more about the Strengthening Families approach, please visit https://cssp.org/our-work/project/strengthening-families/.
STRENGTHENING FAMILIES AND STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS
STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS
How It Works
Project ABC CFCE and our Community Partners use the Strengthening Partnerships Frameworks as a roadmap to family engagement, by building on existing family engagement frameworks, integrating principles of equity and cultural responsiveness, and providing an aligned approach
to engage with families.
Our collective goal is to create effective family engagement programs and practices to further build the capacity of both families and practitioners around meaningful partnerships that contribute to child/youth success.
Why We Use It
The goal of family engagement in education is to build genuine relationships over time between students, families, educators, and the community. Positive relationships and shared responsibility supports family well-being,
and children's healthy development from the earliest ages into young adulthood.
Effective family engagement is culturally responsive, collaborative, equitable, and respectful of diverse languages, norms, and values. Effective family engagement also tries to eliminate barriers to participation and takes place in schools, in the community, and wherever students live and learn.
Strengthening Partnerships Frameworks
To learn more about the Strengthening Partnerships approach, please visit https://www.doe.mass.edu/sfs/family-engagement-framework.pdf.
Community Partners
Does your organization serve families in the MetroWest? Are you looking to connect with a network of community partners who are dedicated to serving youth and families? Contact us to learn more about ways to partner with Project ABC!
