Strengthening Families

All of the services we provide, both home based and community based, are developed to support the Strengthening Families approach.   At the center of the Strengthening Families Approach are the Five Protective Factors: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting and child development, and social and emotional competence of children. Research studies support the common-sense notion that when these Protective Factors are well established in a family, the likelihood of child abuse and neglect diminishes. Research shows that these protective factors are also “promotive” factors that build family strengths and a family environment that promotes optimal child and youth development. (Center for the Study of Social Policy)

The Protective Factors and what they mean are as follows:

Parental Resilience—The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges.

Social Connections—Friends, family members, neighbors and other members of the community who provide emotional support and concrete assistance to parents.

Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development— Accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior/development.

Concrete Support 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.

Children’s Social and Emotional Development—A child’s ability to interact positively with others