CHILD AND FAMILY TEAMS IN A SYSTEM OF CARE
The North Carolina Family-Centered Meetings Project has
collaboratively developed a training curriculum on the use of child and family teams within a system of care. Child and family teams are meetings where family members and their support systems work together to create plans for realizing the hopes, wishes, and dreams of families for their children and youth..
System of care provides service to families who have children/youth with significant mental health, emotional, behavioral, educational, or social challenges. The goal is to support the success of children/youth with these challenges in their home, school, and community.
Pilots of this new curriculum have been conducted in North Carolinian counties. Training participants included community members and service providers. Funding for this curricular development is provided by Bladen County Department of Social Services from a federal Children’s Bureau grant.
The
North Carolina Family-Centered Meetings Project developed
the curriculum in collaboration with a family advocacy organization—North Carolina Families United—and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships. The pilots will be carried out by trainers from all three groups.
The pilots were carried out by trainers from all three groups. The collaborative effort is facilitated by Resources for Change.
Advice on the curriculum was provided by the System of Care Child and Family Team Curriculum and Training Group. This group has representation from parents; youth advocates; divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services: Division of Social Services (DSS), Division of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Abuse Services (DMH/DD/SAS), and Division of Public Health (DPH); the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP); the Department of Public Instruction (DPI); and universities. The group is affiliated with the State Collaborative for Children and Families System of Care.
The curriculum development was guided by seven practice principles set forth by the System of Care Child and Family Team Curriculum and Training Group. These practice principles are listed below along with examples of associated competencies for putting them into practice.
| Practice Principles |
Examples of Associated Competencies |
| Family, children, and youths are full partners. |
Use positive language to build rapport. |
| Planning is led by the family. |
Create a setting in which family can state their preferences. |
| Meeting is a safe, supportive place for all members. |
Set together ground rules for the meeting. |
| Meeting includes people who can help the family succeed. |
Assemble participants with the authority to commit resources flexibly. |
| Plans are built around what families do well and fit with their beliefs. |
Identify the strengths of families within their homes and communities. |
| Members are committed to the plan and share responsibility for successful outcomes. |
Follow through on steps in the plan, and evaluate their effectiveness. |
| Plans are changed when they are not working for families. |
Modify the plans in response to the family’s changing conditions. |
��
For further information, please contact the Project Coordinator Lisa Pierson.
|