Jurisdictions across the country are challenged to improve their child welfare systems to better ensure that children are safe and growing up in permanent families that can ensure their well-being. Through Program Improvement Plans resulting from the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) and other child welfare reform efforts, State child welfare agencies are assessing current policies and practices and deciding how to make needed improvements.

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• Approaches to system reform

• Engaging a diverse group of individuals, perspectives, and partners in child welfare

• Child and Family Services Reviews

• Systems of care

• Reform based on litigation

• Reform related to TANF

• Building and sustaining system reform efforts

• Lessons learned from system reform efforts

• Child and Family Services Plan and final report resources

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All families can benefit from connecting with resources that offer information, guidance, and support to help them meet the challenges of parenthood and family life.

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• Family support services are community-based services that assist and support parents in their role as caregivers. Family support services promote parental competency and healthy child development by helping parents enhance their strengths and resolve problems that can lead to child maltreatment, developmental delays, and family disruption.

• Family preservation services are short-term services designed to help families cope with significant stresses or problems that interfere with their ability to nurture their children. The goal of family preservation services is to maintain children with their families, or to reunify them, whenever it can be done safely.

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Family support and preservation services may be provided to different types of families involved with the child welfare system—birth or biological families, kinship families, foster families, and adoptive families—to enhance family functioning and ensure child safety. In family support and preservation services, the worker assists the family in identifying strengths, needs, and current resources in order to create a plan to address their concerns and help them achieve their goals. Assessment is incorporated throughout the process and may take a number of different forms but always with the family as partners in the process.

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The following resources provide an introduction to the field of family support and preservation services.

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• Frequently asked questions

 

2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide

Author(s)

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Child Welfare Information Gateway;Children's Bureau;FRIENDS National Resource Center For Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention

 

Availability

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Year Published 2021

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The Prevention Resource Guide was developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being. It focuses on protective factors that build on family strengths to foster healthy child and youth development. The resources featured represent the work of a partnership of national organizations, Federal partners, and parents committed to strengthening families and communities.

 

Family Stabilization Programs(opens in new window)
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2019)
Rates the effectiveness of programs that aim to preserve, support, and stabilize families in crisis or at risk of child removal.

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National Family Preservation Network(opens in new window)
Offers research-based tools, training resources, and technical assistance to public and private child- and family-serving agencies in the areas of family preservation, reunification, and fatherhood.

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National Family Support Network (opens in new window)
Provides resources for families using a family-centered approach to enhance parenting skills; prevent child abuse; increase school readiness; connect families to necessary resources; develop parent and community leadership; and promote the health, safety, and well-being of children.

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National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice (opens in new window)
Promotes family-centered, community-based, culturally competent practice within organizations involved in child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, substance use treatment, and similar fields. The center works across systems, including research and evaluation, training and technical assistance, and information dissemination.

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Strengthening Families(opens in new window)
Center for the Study of Social Policy

Describes a framework for increasing family strengths and enhancing child development by helping parents build protective factors in their lives and communities. The website offers resources for planning and implementation, community partnership development, research and evaluation, and more.