Local collaboratives help programs that engage and support families (e.g., parent support groups, English as a Second Language or citizenship classes, family suppers) assist families with problems or at least provide an entry point to such services.
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| The Early Start component of the Cuyahoga County Early Childhood Initiative in Ohio conducts home visits to families with children under age 3 who are identified by other programs as being at risk of child abuse or other negative outcomes. | |
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Collaboratives encourage national and local media, using television, radio, billboards, newspapers, and other media, to conduct public education campaigns promoting community norms that:
- Emphasize attentive, responsive, responsible child rearing and time for parenting
- Value the professionals who support and protect children and help to strengthen families
- Support positive parenting and teach about developmental milestones and age-appropriate expectations
- Reinforce healthy child development and strong families
- Promote the idea that all families need support at times
Collaboratives help parents balance work and family responsibilities by persuading employers to offer supportive workplace arrangements, including flexible schedules and telecommuting options. They persuade policymakers to make supportive workplace arrangements for parents who receive public assistance.
Local collaboratives keep funders and policymakers informed about barriers to effective action that require solutions at the funding, policy, or regulatory level.
Community groups encourage and facilitate the development of policies and practices that minimize administrative demands on families, by sharing client information, using common eligibility definitions and determinations, and collecting common data.
The community builds the capacity to monitor:
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| The Office of Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, established by the Kentucky state legislature, provides administrative support, technical assistance, and training to Kentucky’s local school-based Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSC). Each Center has unique components, but all promote the flow of resources and support to families in ways that improve their functioning and development. To enhance students’ school success, the centers develop partnerships that promote early learning and successful transition into school. http://cfc.ky.gov/frysc
The Allegheny County Family Support Centers network, financed by a mix of public and private dollars, works to prepare children to enter school, improve parenting skills among adults, and reduce repeat pregnancies among teenage mothers. The centers are located in poor neighborhoods, governed by parent councils. www.education.pitt.edu/ocd/publications/
backgrounds/FamilySupport.pdf | |
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- Program, neighborhood, and community-wide outcomes
- The availability of primary and preventive services in addition to crisis interventions
- The availability of appropriate services and supports to everyone who needs them-both through individual programs and through community-wide decisions and resource allocations
- The cultural and linguistic appropriateness of services
- Barriers that issues of race, language, and culture might pose to families trying to obtain support Local collaboratives reduce social isolation by
- Helping families to obtain needed services
- Encouraging community organizations and natural helpers to support their hard-to-reach neighbors
- Helping families to use informal networks and services to support each other.
- Encouraging programs to act together, aggressively and coherently, to prevent family homelessness and to support homeless families.
- Promoting neighborhood revitalization and safety efforts
- Creating opportunities for civic involvement and public service.
