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Webinar

Effective Partners in Prevention: What You Need to Know about Family Resource Centers

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ISPCAN Resources

This webinar charts the tremendous growth of Family Resource Centers in multiple countries, illustrate the successful outcomes they have achieved for children and families, and highlight opportunities to connect with, leverage, and develop them. You will learn:

The goal of a Family Resource Center is to promote positive outcomes for all children, families, and communities by leveraging the collective impact of existing networks and championing quality family support and strengthening practices and policies. Family Resource centers bring value to the communities they serve because they: •Support families to build the Strengthening Families 5 Protective Factors •Provide parenting support, including parenting education utilizing evidence based curricula •Provide access to resources •Support families to identify and address their goals •Provide child development activities •Support healthy martial and couples relationships •Promote family economic success •Provide parent leadership development opportunities.

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Listen to the Webinar Recording

Webinar Date:

November 19, 2024

Region:

Global

Topics:

Family Resource Centers
Primary needs
Safety and security
Risk Factors
Resource Downloads
Family Resource Centers - Effective Partners in Prevention Presentation Slides
What is a Family Resource Center
Go To Resource
Family Resource Center & Child Welfare Collaboration Continuum
Go To Resource
The National Family Support Network’s free Webinar Wednesdays
Go To Resource
Family Resource Center - Vehicle for change
Go To Resource
Strengths and Stressors Assessment Tool - An ecological approach to assessing and working with at-risk families
Go To Resource
Being a Parent - Nobody is Perfect
Go To Resource

Learning Objectives:

What is a Family Resource Center?
A community or school-based welcoming hub of support, services, and opportunities for families that: • Utilizes an approach that is multi-generational, strengths-based, and family-centered • Reflects and is responsive to community needs and interests in both urban and rural settings • Provides support at no or low cost for participants • Builds communities of peer support for families to develop social connections that reduce isolation and stress
What does a Family Resource Center do?
• Enhance parenting skills • Foster the healthy development and well-being of children, youth, and families • Prevent child abuse and neglect • Increase school readiness • Connect families to resources • Develop parent and community leadership • Engage males and fathers • Support healthy marital and couples relationships • Promote family economic success
What is their impact in the communities they serve?
• 63% reduction of child maltreatment • 50% reduction of out of home placements • 26% lower rates of community-level child abuse investigations • Gains in economic self-sufficiency, health, social support, family functioning and resiliency, child nurturing and healthy attachment • Improvements in children’s educational success • $4.93 Social Return on Investment for every dollar invested
Participants will gain an understanding of what Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are and their key role in prevention.
Family Support and Strengthening Networks & Child Welfare Networks of Family Resource Centers partner with and child welfare agencies to support children and families by: •Establishing linkages and relationships to leverage Family Resource Centers in relation to child welfare •Collaborating with multiple systems to promote a coordinated system of support for child welfare-involved families •Leveraging FRCs to implement Kinship Navigator programs by providing support to kinship care providers
Participants will understand the impact that FRCs have on the prevention of child abuse and neglect within the communities that they serve.
Participants will understand how they can further explore FRC or FRC Network development in their communities even with limited resources.

Presented By:

Andrew Russo picture
Andrew Russo
Co-Founder International Association of Family Support Networks
Andrew Russo co-founded the International Association of Family Support Networks in 2024.  Previously, he served as the Co-Founder & Director of the National Family Support Network in the United States for 13 years.  He has worked and volunteered in the nonprofit social service sector at the direct service, management, and network levels for more than 25 years in Boston, Chicago, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington DC, and Taiwan.   Because of his keen interest in working collaboratively at the systems level to ensure families are supported, he co-founded and served as co-chair of seven Family Support networks at the neighborhood, city, state, national, and international levels.  He has co-authored several landmark documents in the Family Support field including the Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support.   He earned his B.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University and his M.A. in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University Chicago. 

Contributing Partners:

IAFSN Logo 2024
Family Resource Centers