Strengthening Families and Communities All Year

Who is Working on Strengthening Families?

WV Family Survey Results (measuring protective factors in prevention programs)

What is Strengthening Families?

Social Connections Strengthening Families West Virginia is an ongoing initiative that involves multiple agencies, state level departments, and individuals. Strengthening Families is not a program or a model but rather a philosophy of "doing business." Strengthening Families is an incorporation of Protective Factors or Circles of Caring that have been researched and shown to prevent child abuse and neglect. Back to Top of Page

What are protective Factors or circles of caring?

West Virginia recognizes five Protective Factors for evaluation purposes and an additional protective factor folded within another for a total of six. The Protective factors include:

Protective Factor/Circle of Caring	Strengthening Families	Administration for Children and Families
Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development	Accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior	Children thrive when parents provide not only affection, but also respectful communication and listening, consistent rules and expectations, and safe opportunities that promote independence. Successful parenting fosters psychological adjustment, helps children succeed in school, encourages curiosity about the world, and motivates children to achieve.
Concrete Supports 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	Families who can meet their own basic needs for food, clothing, housing, and transportation—and who know how to access essential services such as childcare, health care, and mental health services to address family-specific needs—are better able to ensure the safety and well-being of their children.
Parental Resilience	The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges	Parents who can cope with the stresses of everyday life, as well an occasional crisis, have resilience; they have the flexibility and inner strength necessary to bounce back when things are not going well. Multiple life stressors, such as a family history of abuse or neglect, health problems, marital conflict, or domestic or community violence—and financial stressors such as unemployment, poverty, and homelessness—may reduce a parent's capacity to cope effectively with the typical day-to-day stresses of raising children.
Nurturing and Attachment	Tied to Social and Emotional Competence of children	A child's early experience of being nurtured and developing a bond with a caring adult affects all aspects of behavior and development. When parents and children have strong, warm feelings for one another, children develop trust that their parents will provide what they need to thrive, including love, acceptance, positive guidance, and protection.
Social and Emotional Competence of Children	A child’s ability to interact positively with others and communicate his or her emotions effectively	Tied to Nurturing and Attachment
*Social Connections*	Friends, family members, neighbors, and other members of a community who provide emotional support and concrete assistance to parents	Parents with a social network of emotionally supportive friends, family, and neighbors often find that it is easier to care for their children and themselves. Most parents need people they can call on once in a while when they need a sympathetic listener, advice, or concrete support. Research has shown that parents who are isolated, with few social connections, are at higher risk for child abuse and neglect.

There are also 3 Levers of Change that are critical to the successful implementation of the Protective Factors or Circles of Caring.

*Parental Involvement*	Parent Partnerships
*Professional Development*	Making sure everyone understand the approach
*Policies and Systems*	Policies and Systems to embed the Protective Factors

Who is working on Strengthening families in west virginia?

Bureau for Children and Families awarded a contract to Hornby Zeller and Associates (HZA) to create a cross program prevention survey based on the Protective factors. The West Virginia Survey has been piloted and rolled out statewide July 1, 2011.

Partners in Prevention awarded a 3 year $25,000 Innovation grant to the Cabell County Family Resource Network in 2007. That grant has ended. However, the Cabell County Family Resource Network was awarded an Innovation Replication grant to finalize the project and make it into a replicable package for use by other entities. This resulted in the Strengthening Families Made S-I-M-P-L-E training.

Partners in Prevention and the Bureau for Children and Families jointly created a mandated reporter training centered around the Protective Factors. Over 125 folks were trained in the Making a Difference: The Mandate to Report, The Responsibility to Prevent cirriculum. This training focuses on teaching mandated reporters about the Protective Factors and how they can prevent child abuse and neglect. The training has since been developed into a Web Ct. For information on obtaining a user id and password, please write dhhr child abuse prevention

In Home Family Education programs build protective factors. A guide will be released in September of how parent educators can intentionally build protective factors in the families they serve. The relationship between home visitng and Strengthening Families is also explained here. Back to Top of Page

How can i learn more?

The Cabell County Strengthening Families Project completed their replication grant. Materials include:

Ideas to build Social Connections
Cabell County FRN Strengthening Families Experiences
Big Picture Tool for Early Care and Education Programs (and others)
Cabell County Pilot Site Experience Brief Back to Top of Page

The National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds have developed several training materials available for public use. They can be found here. Click on each state for more information.

The Center for the Study of Social Policy offers a wealth of resources as well. Follow this link to their website.

The American Acedemy of Pediatrics released a document on how to build social emotional health in young children.

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Strengthening Families and Communities All Year

What is Strengthening Families?

What are protective Factors or circles of caring?

Who is working on Strengthening families in west virginia?

How can i learn more?