Family Contact Improvement Partnership
History
In 2017, the Butler Institute for Families partnered with R.O.C.K. Mat-Su and the local Office of Children’s Services (OCS), in the south-central region, to evaluate the systemic challenges involved in providing family contact services. By evaluating the systemic challenges involved in family contact resources, the partnership between R.O.C.K. Mat-Su and OCS aimed to improve the availability, frequency, and quality of family contact for families in the borough served by the south-central office.
R.O.C.K. Mat-Su adopted this strategy in 2017. To begin R.O.C.K. contracted with the Butler Institute for Families out of the University of Denver and partners to evaluate the systemic challenges involved in providing family contact services for children in out of home placement in the Mat-Su. By evaluating the systemic challenges involved in family contact resources, the partnership between R.O.C.K. Mat-Su and OCS aimed to improve the availability, frequency, and quality of family contact for families in the borough served by the south-central office. The evaluation revealed an over-extended child welfare workforce with training and coaching needs, communication barriers between child welfare workers and stakeholders, and a need for improvement in family contact procedures.
In response to this evaluation, R.O.C.K. Mat-Su brought together community partners to identify next steps for improvements to supervised visitation which led to the development of the Family Contact Improvement Partnership (FCIP). The FCIP believes that culturally centered, meaningful, and healthy contact is best for a child to strengthen family relationships and help children thrive.
Professionals
Introduction
Best Practices
Documentation
Training & Professional Development
Tools
Parent Onboarding
Evaluation | Parent Survey
Introduction
This body of work was developed by the Family Contact Improvement Partnership (FCIP) in partnership with the Butler Institute for Families. The FCIP is a group of organizations, agencies, and community stakeholders committed to improving family contact for children who are in out-of-home placement. The goal of FCIP is for community partners to unite so that families and children engage in meaningful, healthy contact that is best for the child. The Partnership believes that culturally centered, meaningful, and healthy contact that is best for the child should occur and that community partners must work together to help make this happen consistently for all children.
What is a professional family contact facilitator?
The person who is responsible for facilitating the family contact event. For the purposes of this guide, this person is a professional, either an employee of a provider agency, stakeholder agency, or employee of the Office of Children Services.
Learn more about the research and why this is important.
Check out the additional tabs for training and other professional development opportunities, tools, and resources.
Best Practices
This guide was developed by the Family Contact Improvement Partnership (FCIP) in partnership with the Butler Institute for Families.
Definition:
Family Contact Facilitator | The person who is responsible for facilitating the family contact event. For the purposes of this guide, this person is a professional, either an employee of a provider agency, stakeholder agency, or employee of the Office of Children Services.
Check out the additional tabs for training and other professional development opportunities, tools, and resources.
Click image to view & download
Documentation
The following forms are used by professional facilitators of family contact to document the event.
eLearn | Feedback Form
Click image to begin the training.
Documentation
Click image to view & download WORD document.
Training & Professional Development
The following are training and other professional development opportunities for professional family contact facilitators.
Training | Best Practices in Family Contact for Professionals
This training equips professionals to provide meaningful, safe, and culturally centered family contact for foster children and families in Mat-Su.
You will learn about best practices that give families the best chance of:
– maintaining parent/child attachment
– building positive future connections
– successful family reunification
Contact: Jolene Greenland | jolene@beaconhillak.com
Register Today: CLICK HERE
Things to Know about the training.
28 total hours of training
4 hours of online pre-course work (may take less time to complete) + 3 days of in-person training
Certificate upon completion
Post-training support includes in-person coaching and family contact shadowing
Lunch and snacks provided
Recommended to complete the Strengthening Families training prior to attending
Draft Onboarding Plan
Alaska Office of Children Services – Social Services Associate (SSA)
Free Online Training
Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life In Your Work
Children’s Trust Fund Alliance is pleased to make available an online training to support implementation of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework in multiple settings. This curriculum includes new materials on partnering with parents and addresses promising strategies to strengthen families. The online training is for anyone who works with children and families, including parents, practitioners and supervisors.
Scroll down to center of webpage to learn about the Free Online Training.
Tools
Family Contact Case Consultation Framework Toolkit
This Family Contact Consultation Framework (FCCF) is used by agencies involved in the provision of family contact to support intra-agency and inter-agency case consultations. Groups or teams can use the FCCF, or it can be used one on one, including within supervisory sessions. The overarching goal of the FCCF is to anchor the work with families in best practices. The FCCF provides a visual aid to assist professionals and stakeholders involved with a family to critically think through complex situations. It can be used between professionals and/or with professionals and the specific family to explore key elements of family contact that guide decision-making in alignment with best practices. The FCCF is available in two formats: a blank version and a desk aide version. The desk aide version has guiding questions to help people attending a case consultation think critically and collaboratively about family contact.
Strengthening Families: 5 Protective Factors
Strengthening Families™ is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. – The Center for the Study of Social Policy –
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
The Center strives to present information, especially scientific information, in a way that is accessible to a wide range of readers.
Keep Connected
Healthy, strong family relationships are foundational to young people’s growth, learning, and well-being. These relationships build strong social and emotional strengths that kids use throughout their lives.
But great family relationships don’t just happen.
Keep Connected offers all kinds of families—and organizations that support them—ideas, activities, and experiences to help build strong family relationships. Our goal is to strengthen family relationships to help kids be and become their best selves.
Parent Onboarding
The following are documents and videos created to support onboarding parents, foster parents, and others in their support circle, so they know what to expect during a family contact event and assist them in planning / preparing for each event.
Documents
Videos
Evaluation | Parent Survey
Baseline Evaluation
Evaluation of Family Contact Resources for Children in Out-of-Home Placement (Butler Institute for Families, October 2017)
In 2017, the Butler Institute for Families partnered with R.O.C.K. Mat-Su and the local Office of Children’s Services (OCS), in the south-central region, to evaluate the systemic challenges involved in providing family contact services. By evaluating the systemic challenges involved in family contact resources, the partnership between R.O.C.K. Mat-Su and OCS aimed to improve the availability, frequency, and quality of family contact for families in the borough served by the south-central office.
Current Evaluation Efforts
Currently the Family Contact Improvement Partnership is collecting data via a parent survey. A baseline report was created from our first round of data collection. This report includes recommendations for alignment with best practices.
Parent Survey Baseline Report
Instructions for Implementation of Parent Survey
The following video was created for Mat-Su organizations that are part of the pilot project implementing the best practices. This video is to support staff in administering the Parent Survey.
Video Objectives:
– Survey Purpose
– Areas of Focus
– Survey Distribution
– Survey Preview
– Common Challenges
– Sharing Results
– Incentives for Facilitators and Parents
Information to Share with Parents about Survey
Foster Parents & Supporters
Introduction
Best Practices
Foster Parent Training
Supporter Training
Learning
Introduction
This body of work was developed by the Family Contact Improvement Partnership (FCIP) in partnership with the Butler Institute for Families. The FCIP is a group of organizations, agencies, and community stakeholders committed to improving family contact for children who are in out-of-home placement. The goal of FCIP is for community partners to unite so that families and children engage in meaningful, healthy contact that is best for the child. The Partnership believes that culturally centered, meaningful, and healthy contact that is best for the child should occur and that community partners must work together to help make this happen consistently for all children.
Who is the target audience for this work?
Foster Parent: A person temporarily serving as a care giver for a child who has lost or been removed from a parent’s care.
Kinship Caregiver: children whose parents are unable to look after them on a short or long term basis are cared for by other relatives, like grandparents, uncles or siblings, or by other adults who have a connection to the child, such as neighbors or a close friend of the family.
Supporter: A family contact supporter is a relative, tribal member, caring community member, or family friend that is interested in volunteering to supervise family contact time.
Check out the additional tabs for training and other learning opportunities, tools, and resources.
Best Practices
This guide was developed by the Family Contact Improvement Partnership (FCIP) in partnership with the Butler Institute for Families.
The best practices and accompanying information/training is for…
-
licensed & unlicensed foster placements
-
kinship placements
-
family contact supporters
Click image to view & download
Foster Parent Training
The following are training and other professional development opportunities for foster parents.
Training | Best Practices in Family Contact
This training equips foster parents to provide meaningful, safe, and culturally centered family contact for foster children and families in Mat-Su.
You will learn about best practices that give families the best chance of:
– maintaining parent/child attachment
– building positive future connections
– successful family reunification
Contact: Jolene Greenland | jolene@beaconhillak.com
Stipends are available for your time + an additional amount is available for child care if needed.
Register Today: CLICK HERE
Things to Know about the training.
18 total hours of training
4 hours of online pre-course work (may take less time to complete) + in-person training
Certificate upon completion
Post-training support includes in-person coaching and family contact shadowing
Lunch and snacks provided
Recommended to complete the Strengthening Families training prior to attending
Free Online Training
Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life In Your Work
Children’s Trust Fund Alliance is pleased to make available an online training to support implementation of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework in multiple settings. This curriculum includes new materials on partnering with parents and addresses promising strategies to strengthen families. The online training is for anyone who works with children and families, including parents, practitioners and supervisors.
Scroll down to center of webpage to learn about the Free Online Training.
Supporter Training
The following are training and other professional development opportunities for family contact supporters.
Definition: Supporter
A family contact supporter is a relative, tribal member, caring community member, or family friend that is interested in volunteering to supervise family contact time.
A family contact supporter is a relative, tribal member, caring community member, or family friend that is interested in volunteering to supervise family contact time.
Training | Best Practices in Family Contact for Supporters
This training equips family contact supporters to provide meaningful, safe, and culturally centered family contact for foster children and families in Mat-Su.
You will learn about best practices that give families the best chance of:
– maintaining parent/child attachment
– building positive future connections
– successful family reunification
Contact: Jolene Greenland | jolene@beaconhillak.com
Stipends are available for your time + an additional amount is available for child care if needed.
Register Today: CLICK HERE
Things to Know about the training.
14 total hours of training
4 hours of online pre-course work (may take less time to complete) + in-person training
Certificate upon completion
Post-training support includes learning exchanges.
Lunch and snacks provided
Recommended to complete the Strengthening Families training prior to attending
Free Online Training
Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life In Your Work
Children’s Trust Fund Alliance is pleased to make available an online training to support implementation of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework in multiple settings. This curriculum includes new materials on partnering with parents and addresses promising strategies to strengthen families. The online training is for anyone who works with children and families, including parents, practitioners and supervisors.
Scroll down to center of webpage to learn about the Free Online Training.
Learning
Strengthening Families: 5 Protective Factors
Strengthening Families™ is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. – The Center for the Study of Social Policy –
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
The Center strives to present information, especially scientific information, in a way that is accessible to a wide range of readers.
Keep Connected
Healthy, strong family relationships are foundational to young people’s growth, learning, and well-being. These relationships build strong social and emotional strengths that kids use throughout their lives.
But great family relationships don’t just happen.
Keep Connected offers all kinds of families—and organizations that support them—ideas, activities, and experiences to help build strong family relationships. Our goal is to strengthen family relationships to help kids be and become their best selves.