Strengthening Families Leadership Team

Pennsylvania’s efforts to integrate the Strengthening Families approach into its early childhood, child welfare and family service and support programs has been led since 2006 by a statewide Leadership Team, which is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund and supported by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), a division of the Departments of Human Services and Education. The Center for Schools and Communities contracts with OCDEL to facilitate its work. The state Leadership Team offers guidance to state child- and family-serving programs in incorporating the Strengthening Families approach within their work.

Mission

Pennsylvania, through the Strengthening Families Leadership Team, works to sustain and weave the Five Protective Factors, which are social and emotional competence of children, knowledge of parenting and child development, social connections, concrete supports in times of need and parental resilience, into policies, program and practice across child and family service systems.

Vision

Pennsylvania families will use a seamless network of committed partners who provide strength-based family supports.

Motto

Relationships – Strong Families – Respect

Leadership Team Members

The Pennsylvania Strengthening Families Leadership Team’s members include representatives from the Departments of Human Services and Education, as well as community-based service partners, early care and education programs, local school districts and Intermediate Units.

Pennsylvania’s System-Building Efforts

The Pennsylvania Strengthening Families Leadership Team (SFLT) meets quarterly to oversee and guide the integration of the Strengthening Families approach into existing policies, programs and practice across child and family service systems where an investment in focused work can leverage opportunities to integrate Strengthening Families ideas into a large number of programs and/or have a sustainable impact over time. The SFLT works to build partnerships with parents and family members who inform programs and systems about the strengths that families have and ways services may be available to families.

The state Leadership Team meets quarterly and addresses:

Policy – Systems Approach

Examine linkages among systems, development of organizational, local, regional and statewide policies and guidelines that support and grow the SFPF.

Practice – Among professionals

Growing opportunities for professional development about SFPF and experiences that emphasize a strengths-based approach with family work among health, human services, child welfare, early care and education and other professionals.

Partnerships – As Partners

Expanding family and parents’ role in determining their own use of services and supports and participation in community, regional and statewide decision-making boards and making connections with organizations and systems that can promote this work.

Messaging – Asset Orientation

Work to use strength-based messages, to shift our lens from blame and shame to awareness and growth.