Although we do not “give” protective factors to parents and caregivers, family-serving organizations can be important partners that support families to build protective factors. Organizations and programs can enact policies that support meaningful family engagement, administrators can set aside funds for initiatives that build protective factors and supervisors can hire and support employees to cultivate a strengths-based approach in their work with families. Individual staff members can consider their approach with families and use tools directly with parents and caregivers that identify and build on their strengths. When organizations and staff members are committed to the Strengthening Families™ approach, together they create environments where family members build protective factors and children thrive. Explore the topics below to learn more and find resources that will support implementing the Strengthening Families™ approach in your work.
Deepen Knowledge
Understanding Protective Factors and the Strengthening Families™ Approach
The Strengthening Families™ approach is a research-informed way of working with families from a strengths-based perspective. Parents and caregivers are recognized as the leaders of their families. When parents and caregivers rely on and cultivate their strengths and have access to opportunities, services and support, their children thrive. The Center for the Study of Social Policy identified five key characteristics that, when robust in families, help to ensure positive outcomes. These five protective factors do not eliminate all challenges a family faces, but they can provide buffers to negative impacts. In some cases parents and caregivers may already have these protective factors in others, they can be cultivated with the support of relatives, friends, service providers and the community.
The five protective factors are:
Parental resilience – Parents and caregivers can persevere in difficult situations, cope with stress and grow as a result of adversity
Social connections – Parents and caregivers have nurturing and positive relationships that provide emotional, spiritual and informational support
Knowledge of parenting and child development – Parents and caregivers have access to accurate and timely information about their children’s development and build skills to support their child’s development
Concrete support in times of need – Parents and caregivers can identify their needs, have access to services and supports and are willing to ask for help when their family is facing difficulties
Social and emotional competence of children – Parents and caregivers build nurturing relationships with their children based on positive interactions that support their children’s development of social and emotional skills
View Core Meanings of the Strengthening Families Protective Factors PDF on CSSP’s website.
Learn More about the Strengthening Families™ Approach
The “Approach” section of the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s (CSSP) website includes links to research documents and handouts that dive deeper into the framework.
The Children’s Trust Fund Alliance website offers information, resources and online courses about the protective factors, including links to resources developed by states.
Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) website explores how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Like the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors, HOPE uses a strengths-based approach and considers how positive childhood experiences can be both protective and promotive.
Explore learning opportunities about the Strengthening Families Protective Factors offered by Pennsylvania Strengthening Families.
Ensure Accountability
Measuring the Strengthening Families™ Approach
As programs implement the approach, it is important to assess progress. How have programs shifted practice? What impact has this approach had on families? Do families feel supported in building protective factors? These questions can be addressed by using the tools listed below.
The Strengthening Families Self-Assessments, developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy, help programs assess their implementation. There are separate versions of the assessment to meet the needs of a variety of programs.
The Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors measures caregivers’ perceptions of the protective factors in their families.
The Protective Factors Surveys developed by the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention can help programs assess changes in the protective factors of families served.
Shift Practice, Policies and Systems toward a Protective Factors Approach for Organizations and Practitioners
Putting the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework into Practice
The Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework moves from a research-informed approach to a transformative practice through the actions taken by families, providers and leaders to create environments where families thrive. As noted by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), “Strengthening Families is implemented through small but significant changes in daily practice, supported by shifts at the program level that allow workers to make those changes.” Explore the resources below that support programs and workers to make these meaningful shifts to support families.
Center for the Study of Social Policy (2021). Strengthening Families Practice.
- The Strengthening Families Practice page on the CSSP website includes resources that practitioners can use to create environments where families build protective factors, including supports for goal-setting and identifying strengths, incorporating the approach into different systems and action sheets to use with families.
- Explore the need2know resources developed by the Alliance National Parent Partnership Council to find tools, infographics, social media campaigns and conversation guides related to the protective factors.
- The Five for Families website, developed by the Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, provides information about the protective factors and videos of caregivers sharing their experiences.
- The Father Involvement and the Five Protective Factors brief from the National Fatherhood Initiative discusses how to support dads to build protective factors.
- Programs can learn more about how the protective factors are embedded or related to a variety of evidence-based programs by exploring the CSSP Strengthening Families and Evidence-Based Programs: Making the Link webpage.
Strengths Based Program Shifts in Policy and Practice
Families are at the heart of the work of many support agencies and programs. Programs may need to shift practices to ensure that all families are served in a culturally responsive manner and that staff is well-equipped to provide equitable, strengths-based services. A dedication to hiring staff with lived experiences similar to those served and providing learning opportunities for staff to explore concepts around equity and social justice are ways to support this effort. Get resources for organizations to support the advancement of equity and justice for all families on CSSP’s website.
Programs may use frameworks to assess that family support professionals have the knowledge and competencies to interact with families. An example of one framework is the National Family Support Competency Framework for Family Support Professionals, developed by the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals. Staff benefit from ongoing support to develop personally and professionally. One method of supporting staff is through reflective supervision.
There are many aspects to organizational practice and policies. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a robust library of resources in their Workforce section. Although many of these resources are aimed at child welfare systems, most of the concepts transfer to other systems including family support.