Home Visiting Summit

September 29, 2014

Bringing the Protective Factors to Life in Your Work

2

BE PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR BUILDING STRONG FAMILIES AND REDUCING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

IDENTIFYING RISK FACTORS

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

LOOKING AT THE FAMILY THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS

A single mom working two jobs, has no transportation,

and does not bring her child to the center on time.

1

A parent just moved to the city, appears to have an

alcohol problem, and has a special needs child

2

A teenage parent, who works a minimum wage job, has not

graduate from high school, and has no health care.

3

A mother of two preschoolers is in a wheelchair because of

cerebral palsy, her extended family lives very

far away. 4

FOUR CORNERS EXERCISE

EXERCISE: CONSIDERATIONS

¡  Did you make the decision based on deficits?

¡  What assumptions, if any, did you make?

¡  Did your biases play a role in your decisions?

¡  If you were working with this family, how would you find their strengths?

WHAT ARE THE PROTECTIVE

FACTORS?

Strengthened Families

Optimal child growth and

development

Reduced Child Abuse and

Neglect

Concrete supports in times of need Knowledge of parenting and child development Parental resilience Social connections Social-emotional Competence of children

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

CONCRETE NEEDS

AND SUPPORTS

CLOTHING

SHELTER

HEALTH CARE

FOOD JOB TRAINING

EDUCATION

FOOD

CONCRETE SUPPORTS

Children’s Trust of South Carolina | scChildren.org

PARENTAL RESILIENCE

KNOWLEDGE OF PARENTING AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE OF CHILDREN

POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR

PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Strengthened Families

Optimal child growth and

development

Reduced Child Abuse and

Neglect

Benefits ALL famil ies

Promotes better overall outcomes for children and famil ies

Grounded in research, practice and

implementation knowledge

Easily integrated into existing programs, systems, strategies

Builds on strengths within the family

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES?

¡ The family is the center of a child’s life; ¡ Working with parents gives us a more holistic view

of how to support and strengthen families; and ¡ Highly involved families almost double the positive

odds for their children in education, health promotion and social-emotional development.

¡ What are you already doing to build protective factors with families you currently serve?

¡  Is their something ELSE you could do to build

protective factors with the families you serve? ¡ What do the Protective Factors look like in

YOUR life?

Children’s Trust of South Carolina | scChildren.org

HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR FAMILIES BUILD PROTECTIVE FACTORS?

¡  Respond immediately when families are in crisis;

¡  Facilitate mutual support around parenting and other issues;

¡ Address parenting issues from a strength based approach;

¡  Encourage parents to manage stress effectively;

¡  Help families to develop the skills they need to identify their needs and connects to supports

¡  Help children develop a positive cultural identity and interact with a diverse society.

¡  Model nurturing support to children.

¡  Provide resources on parenting and child development

Children’s Trust of South Carolina | scChildren.org

WHAT ARE SOME EVERY DAY ACTIONS THAT BUILD PROTECTIVE FACTORS?

Birley Wright, M.Ed. bwright@scchildren.org

803.744.4033

scChildren.org