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## Other Youth Topics

## Breadcrumb

            -  Youth Topics 
            -           System Level: Engaging Families as Partners in System Improvement      

# System Level: Engaging Families as Partners in System Improvement

## Description of Family Engagement and Collaboration at the System Level

Family engagement is most likely to gain traction at the system level when top leadership values and promotes family partnership, and develops policies to support family engagement as a core strategy that’s essential to the organization’s mission and goals. Family engagement is effective when families that represent the diversity of the community participate in authentic collaboration with agency partners in planning, designing, and monitoring system improvements that impact children, youth, families and their community. Whereas agency leaders and staff bring professional experience to the planning table, family members bring “lived experience.” Lived experience represents the direct encounters that families have had with services, programs, policies, and systems as well as critical knowledge families have about their children and neighborhoods.

## Value of Lived Experience

Lived experience embodies a family member’s actual experience with the system(s) and real time perspective on what is needed and working for their teen and family, as well as what is not working. **A family-driven approach advocates that every family should have a primary decision-making role in the care of their own children as well as policy decisions that impact all children and families**.1 Over the past decade, mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice and education have adopted family-driven principles in tailoring their approaches to increase family engagement in decision-making at the direct service level and at the local and state system level.2

The Networked Community Approach to system improvement similarly values those who face the problems daily and who best understand the effects on children, families, and community.3 This user-centered system improvement approach is unique in that it relies on the perspectives of the people for whom the solution, system or service is intended.

A user-centered approach engages youth, and family members, along with administrators and front-line workers throughout the system improvement process that begins with an analysis of the problem, then planning, development, evaluation and tracking improvement. The six core principles of improvement guide the collaborative in developing strategies that address equity, meaningful engagement and according to research, increase attainment of targeted goals in classrooms, schools and districts.4 Engaged leaders and broad family representation that reflect the diversity of the community are essential in co-creating solutions that work for children and families.

#### ***Family Engagement Structure***

Building family engagement in your school or agency requires the resources needed to establish a viable structure focused on building family capacity. Family stakeholders that represent the diversity of the community must be engaged in tailoring the agency’s family engagement approach and in developing an action plan to ensure it reflects the needs and interests of all families served by the agency, district or school. Establishing strong family engagement in your school or agency takes time and requires the support and commitment of leadership and professional allies.

SEDL released *Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships* that states that to have effective and respectful family partnerships, schools or any child serving system must create opportunities for family and staff capacity building in key areas referred to as the four “Cs” — *capabilities, connections, cognition, and confidence*.5 In addition, a fifth fundamental component in building strong partnership is establishing two-way *communication and relationships between leadership, families and system partners*. The four Cs and open communication lay the foundation for family engagement in collective action.

As families build communication skills and capacities in the four Cs, they also strengthen their role as their child’s primary advocate by developing transferable skills. The skills and abilities acquired through family engagement training, planning, collaborative workgroups and other activities equips families with knowledge and skills to navigate and collaborate in other service and community settings.

## Family Roles at the System Level

Family roles have evolved beyond serving as volunteers in random activities. Families are now performing meaningful roles in various systems. Over the past decade, family members with lived experience and specialized training have worked as family support providers (FSP), also referred to as parent support providers (PSP). The concept of family-to-family support began in the children’s mental health systems of care, but has since been adopted by child welfare, juvenile justice and education.6

Some states now include FSP mental health services in their Medicaid plan and service array for medically eligible children and youth, provided FSP staff complete training and attain certification. Certified FSPs work directly with families providing individualized supports such as access to care, skills building, mentoring, advocacy, and training.7 FSPs with hands-on experience in navigating service systems have been highly effective in bridging service gaps between families and schools or agencies.

## Family Engagement Policy

Family engagement policies are becoming more precise regarding standards, methods, expectations and strategic goals. Although family engagement policies and practices are being implemented at the state and national level, considerable efforts are still needed to meaningfully engage and prepare families to take on new roles in their states and communities. Youth-serving organizations, districts, and schools need the support of federal, state, tribal, and local policymakers to build and sustain strong family engagement. Examples include:
                      - Engaging  parents and families in policy development, implementation, and assessment to ensure programs and policies meet their needs and their expertise helps guide the work.  
                      - Creating  infrastructure for leadership. Ensure the appropriate systems are in place to develop, implement, and coordinate key components of family engagement. Provide adequate staffing to support these systems. Strategically allocate funds to ensure sufficient oversight, capacity building, and quality control to support effective policies and practices.  
                      - Building  capacity through collaboration: Seek the support of other organizations to facilitate sharing research and best practices, to coordinate family and community engagement with other initiatives, and to reduce duplication and maximize efficiency.  
                      - Ensuring  reporting, learning, and accountability: Increase the use of proactive monitoring and evaluation to ensure compliance with family and community engagement policies across the organization and to continuously improve policy and practices in the field.

## Resources

**Education**

**Fostering Family Engagement through Shared Leadership in the District, Schools, and Community**This case study of a U.S. Department of Education, Investing in Innovation grantee (i3), addresses how district leaders and community partners worked at building connections between school and home to create opportunities for parents to learn, provide input, and engage as active participants in their child’s school. The work of true family engagement was found to be slow but rewarding and resulted in the hiring of parents into permanent positions in the district as teacher assistants, lunch aides, or childcare providers during school functions.

**Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health**This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was developed for school administrators, educators, support staff and families. It describes parent engagement and identifies specific strategies and actions that schools can take to increase parent engagement in schools’ health promotion activities.

**Mental Health**

**Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters: What Parents Can Do**Each year, children experience violence and disaster and face other traumas. Young people are injured, they see others harmed by violence, they suffer sexual abuse, and they lose loved ones or witness other tragic and shocking events. Parents and caregivers can help children overcome these experiences and start the process of recovery. This resource provides an overview of child and youth trauma, do’s and don’ts for parents and recommendations in accessing direct supports.

**Child Welfare**

**Family Engagement: Partnering with Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes**This bulletin provides an overview of the foundational elements of the family engagement approach in child welfare, followed by strategies—including state and local examples—and promising practices for implementing this approach at the case level, peer level, and systems level.

**The Family Engagement Inventory: A Brief Cross-Disciplinary Synthesis**The Family Engagement Inventory is designed to familiarize professionals in child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health, education, and early childhood education with how family engagement is defined and implemented across these fields of practice. Understanding the commonalities and differences in family engagement across disciplines can support cross-system collaboration among systems often working with the same children, youth, and families.

**Juvenile Justice**

**Families Come First: A Workbook to Transform the Justice System by Partnering with Families – Executive Summary**This summary provides an overview of the Families Come First workbook and the family model framework designed to guide efforts to create and sustain meaningful family-system partnerships by providing a clear and intentional guide to transforming the justice system by taking a family-driven approach.

**An Advocate’s Guide to Meaningful Family Partnerships: Tips from the Field**This guide provides concrete suggestions on how to be more intentional in building sustainable partnerships with families so the movement towards creating fair, equitable and developmentally appropriate juvenile justice systems can proceed with the inclusion of these integral voices for change.

## References

1 National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, 20082 Child Welfare Information Gateway, 20173 Bryk, Gomez, & Grunow, 20104 The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching5 SEDL, 20136 Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health, 20167 Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2016

## Other Resources on this Topic

### Announcements 

                          - 2022 National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW)
                          - 2023/2024 Prevention Resource Guide
                          - Archived Webinar: Innovative Practices to Promote Reunification
                          - Archived Webinar: Leveraging Partnerships in Planning/Hosting a Communities Talk Event
                          - Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Expands School Safety Programs and Funding
                          - Brief: Discriminatory Transgender Health Bills Have Critical Consequences for Youth
                          - Building Staff Co-Regulation to Support Healthy Relationships in Youth: A Guide for Practitioners
                          - Bullying Prevention Awareness Month
                          - Children’s Bureau Express Survey
                          - Department of Justice Awards Nearly $105 Million to Protect Children from Exploitation, Trauma, and Abuse
                          - Disrupting Stigma: How Understanding, Empathy, and Connection Can Improve Outcomes for Families Affected by Substance Use and Mental Disorders
                          - Event: National Conference on Juvenile Justice
                          - First Annual National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day
                          - Healthy and Safe Swimming Week is May 23-29, 2022
                          - HHS Awards $256.6 Million for Equitable and Affordable Title X Family Planning Services Nationwide
                          - June is Internet Safety Month
                          - Justice Department Announces $21.72 Million to Reduce Sexual and Domestic Violence on Campus, Support Children and Youth, and Engage Men and Boys as Allies
                          - National Adoption Month 2022
                          - National Adoption Month 2022
                          - National Crime Victims’ Rights (NCVRW) Week
                          - National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims
                          - Novavax Approved by CDC as an Additional COVID-19 Vaccine for Adolescents
                          - Observance: 2023 National Adoption Month
                          - Observance: 2023 National Veterans and Military Families Month
                          - OJJDP Seeking Nominations for National Missing Children’s Day Awards
                          - Permanency for Youth on Their Own Terms
                          - Redesigned National Adoption Month Website
                          - Report: A Guide to Effective Collaborations with Community-Based Organizations to Support Students Experiencing Homelessness
                          - Report: Building Co-Regulation Capacity to Support Positive Development for Youth with Foster Care Experience
                          - Report: Lessons from a Historic Decline in Child Poverty
                          - Report: School Health Profiles
                          - Report: Supporting Tribal Youth Attendance Achievement
                          - Report: Take Action for Adolescents: A Call to Action for Adolescent Health and Well-Being
                          - Report: The Condition of Education 2023
                          - Report: The State of Family-School Partnerships: Findings from a Survey of Public-School Parents
                          - Reproductive Rights Task Force
                          - Resource: 2022 Adoption Month Outreach Toolkit
                          - Resource: 2023 Red Ribbon Rally
                          - Resource: 9/11 Service Day Public Service Announcement
                          - Resource: A Handbook for Military Families: Helping You with Child Support
                          - Resource: A Look Inside Sharing Power in Child Welfare: A Podcast
                          - Resource: A Starter Kit on Engaging People with Lived Experience in Child Support Programs
                          - Resource: Addressing the Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Families
                          - Resource: Addressing Trauma and Mass Violence
                          - Resource: Advances in Supporting Kinship Caregivers – Part 3
                          - Resource: Advances in Supporting Kinship Caregivers — Part 5  Agencies and departments: Department of Health and Human Ser
                          - Resource: Advances in Supporting Kinship Caregivers Podcast Series
                          - Resource: AFFIRM Caregiver: Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Caregivers of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (LGBTQ+) Populations
                          - Resource: Affirming and Supporting LGBTQ Children and Youth in Child Welfare
                          - Resource: All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness
                          - Resource: AMBER Advocate – Issue 4, 2022
                          - Resource: AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program Fact Sheet
                          - Resource: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Heritage Month Fun Facts
                          - Resource: Astronomy & Astrophysics for the Classroom
                          - Resource: Back to School Checklist for Parents
                          - Resource: Back to School Resources for Success
                          - Resource: Barriers to Authentic Youth Engagement in Permanency Planning
                          - Resource: Behavioral Health Beneficiary Survey
                          - Resource: Beyond the ACE Score: Perspectives on Child Trauma and Adversity Screening and Impact
                          - Resource: Blue Campaign College and University Toolkit on Human Trafficking
                          - Resource: Broadband Access Landscape
                          - Resource: Building Educator Pipelines Through Service 
                          - Resource: Building Multi-Disciplinary Core Planning Teams
                          - Resource: Building Partnerships with Organizations
                          - Resource: Bullying Prevention for Parents of Middle School Students
                          - Resource: CFSR Round 4 Planning and Implementation Tools
                          - Resource: Change and Implementation in Practice: Teaming Worksheets
                          - Resource: Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) Webpage
                          - Resource: Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) Webpage
                          - Resource: Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice System Involvement
                          - Resource: Children In Disasters Emergency Kit Checklists
                          - Resource: Children on the Autism Spectrum: Search Protocols and Questionnaire for First Responders
                          - Resource: Choose AmeriCorps Public Service Announcement
                          - Resource: Co-Regulation in Human Services
                          - Resource: Co-Regulation in Practice Series -- Strategies for Practitioners Who Serve Youth Aged 14-24
                          - Resource: Co-regulation: What It Is and Why it Matters Video
                          - Resource: Common Problems, Common Solutions: Looking Across Sectors at Strategies for Supporting Rural Youth and Families Tool-Kit
                          - Resource: Communities Talk to Prevent Underage Drinking: Success Stories
                          - Resource: Community Violence Intervention: The Chicago Story
                          - Resource: Connecting Conversations
                          - Resource: Court Improvement Programs: Collaboration Between Child Welfare Agencies and Legal and Judicial Communities
                          - Resource: Cultural Responsiveness Overview
                          - Resource: Culturally Responsive Pathways to Peer Programming in Tribal Communities
                          - Resource: Dear Colleague Letter on Addressing the Impacts of Parent and Caregiver Loss on Children
                          - Resource: Defining Child Exposure to Domestic Violence: Lessons From a Historical Review of the Literature
                          - Resource: Department of Defense School Liaison Program
                          - Resource: Department of Justice Awards Nearly $105 Million To Protect Children From Exploitation, Trauma and Abuse
                          - Resource: Determining Youth and Young Adult Eligibility for Services: Grantee Tools and Processes
                          - Resource: Determining Youth and Young Adult Eligibility for Services: Grantee Tools and Processes
                          - Resource: Developing a Graduate Mental Health Internship Program
                          - Resource: Direct Service Providers for Children and Families - Information for Home Visitors
                          - Resource: Distracted Driving
                          - Resource: Diversity & Inclusion Activities Under Title VI Fact Sheet
                          - Resource: Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion in Child Welfare: Our Shared Vocabulary 
                          - Resource: Domestic Violence, Child Welfare, and the School System
                          - Resource: Encouraging Families to Visit a Literacy Website: A Randomized Study of the Impact of Email and Text Message Communications
                          - Resource: Encouraging In-kind Contributions for Communities Talk Activities
                          - Resource: Engaging People with Lived Experience: Resources from Division X Technical Assistance
                          - Resource: Engaging Survivors of Human Trafficking
                          - Resource: Engaging Youth and Young Adults in Community-Based Strategies to Improve Health Literacy
                          - Resource: English Learner Family Toolkit
                          - Resource: Essentials for Parenting Teens
                          - Resource: Establish an Emergency Action Plan
                          - Resource: Establishing Rules – Tips for Talking to Your Child about Appropriate Digital Behavior and Content
                          - Resource: Extended BMI-for-Age Growth Charts
                          - Resource: Families and Caregivers as Partners in School Emergency Management
                          - Resource: Family-Based Justice Center
                          - Resource: Family-Based Justice Center
                          - Resource: Federal Funding to Support LGBTQIA2S+ Children, Youth, Young Adults, and Families
                          - Resource: Flu Vaccine Social Media Toolkit
                          - Resource: Fostering Financial Empowerment for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities
                          - Resource: From Complaint to Resolution: Understanding the Child Welfare Grievance Process
                          - Resource: From Crisis to Care: Building from 988 and Beyond for Better Mental Health Outcomes
                          - Resource: Future Self Tool
                          - Resource: Gathering and Using Family Input to Improve Child Support and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Services: Approaches from the Human Services Field
                          - Resource: Getting Ahead of a Problem
                          - Resource: Going to a Public Disaster Shelter During the COVID-19 Pandemic
                          - Resource: Guidance for Immigrant and Refugee Families: Parenting in a New Country
                          - Resource: Guidance for Immigrant and Refugee Families: The Child Welfare System
                          - Resource: Guides for How to Incorporate Coregulation with Older Youth in Foster Care
                          - Resource: Having the Normalcy Conversation
                          - Resource: Health-Care Coverage for Children and Youth in Foster Care—and After
                          - Resource: Helping Victims of Mass Violence & Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources
                          - Resource: Housing Services
                          - Resource: How Schools Can Combat Human Trafficking in Partnership With People With Lived Experience
                          - Resource: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Stress
                          - Resource: How to Talk About Bullying
                          - Resource: Human Trafficking Implications for Adolescent Health Outcomes Tip Sheet
                          - Resource: Improving Mental, Behavioral and Academic Supports to Students and Families
                          - Resource: In-Home Services to Strengthen Children and Families
                          - Resource: Infographics on Trauma-Informed Advocacy for Survivors of Human Trafficking at Points of Contact
                          - Resource: Integrating Effective Practices to Identify Youth Victims of Human Trafficking
                          - Resource: Intergenerational Engagement
                          - Resource: Intra-Agency Task Force on Reproductive Health
                          - Resource: It’s All Relative: Supporting Kinship Care Discussion Guides and Video Series
                          - Resource: Judicial Leadership for Community-Based Alternatives to Juvenile Secure Confinement
                          - Resource: Key Considerations for Applying an Equity Lens to Collaborative Practice
                          - Resource: Key Topics for Families
                          - Resource: Letter to State Directors of Special Education on Ensuring a High-Quality Education for Highly Mobile Children
                          - Resource: LGBTQ+ Youth Engagement Virtually and In-Person
                          - Resource: LGBTQIA2S+ Youth Experiencing Homelessness
                          - Resource: Maltreatment in Foster Care
                          - Resource: Mapping Community Resources
                          - Resource: Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention for LGBTQIA2S+ Youth
                          - Resource: Monkeypox Guidance
                          - Resource: Move Your Way Campaign
                          - Resource: Multilingual Learner Toolkits: Find What Works for You
                          - Resource: National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide
                          - Resource: National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS) Aligned Programs in all 50 States
                          - Resource: National School Breakfast Program
                          - Resource: National School Lunch Program
                          - Resource: National Teen Driver Safety Week Materials
                          - Resource: National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC)
                          - Resource: National Veterans and Military Families Month Fact Sheet
                          - Resource: National Veterans and Military Families Month Toolkit
                          - Resource: One Pill Can Kill Campaign
                          - Resource: Our Goals, Our Lives Video Series
                          - Resource: Parent Engagement
                          - Resource: Parent Partner Program Navigator
                          - Resource: Parenting Your Adopted Teenager
                          - Resource: Partnering With Parents for System Change
                          - Resource: Permanency Planning with Youth
                          - Resource: Placement Stability
                          - Resource: Planning Tool for Youth Engagement
                          - Resource: Prescription for Disaster: How Teens Misuse Medicine
                          - Resource: Prevent Unsafe Drinking on Campus
                          - Resource: Preventing ACEs Training Module for Educators
                          - Resource: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Online Training for Faith, Spiritual, and Religious Communities
                          - Resource: Preventing Childhood Adversity Through Economic Support and Social Norm Strategies
                          - Resource: Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Fact Sheet
                          - Resource: Prevention Matters Multimedia Gallery
                          - Resource: Prevention Profiles: Take Five - Jeff Coady, Psy.D.
                          - Resource: Prioritizing Youth Voice: The Importance of Authentic Youth Engagement in Case Planning
                          - Resource: Private Schools: Emergency Management Planning for All Settings
                          - Resource: Probation Reform: A Toolkit for State Advisory Groups (SAGs)
                          - Resource: Productive Partnerships with Youth and Families: Commitment to Lived Expertise
                          - Resource: Racial Equity Reflection Videos
                          - Resource: Raise the Bar: Resources for Parents and Families
                          - Resource: Recovery Planning for Schools and Institutions of Higher Education in the Immediate Aftermath of a Significant or Federally Declared Natural Disaster 
                          - Resource: Recruiting and Supporting Resource Families in Tribal Communities
                          - Resource: Recurrence of Maltreatment
                          - Resource: Recursos en Español
                          - Resource: Red Ribbon Patch Program
                          - Resource: Reducing Homelessness Among Young People Transitioning from Foster Care
                          - Resource: Reducing Homelessness Among Young People Transitioning from Foster Care
                          - Resource: Reentry Matters: Voices of Experience
                          - Resource: Reentry to Foster Care
                          - Resource: Reflections – Stories of Foster Care
                          - Resource: Relationships as a Support for Reunification
                          - Resource: Relationships First: Creating Connections that Help Young People Thrive
                          - Resource: Responding to Human Trafficking Through the Child Welfare System Training
                          - Resource: Responding to Types of Child Abuse or Neglect
                          - Resource: Reunification
                          - Resource: SAFE Family Support Locator
                          - Resource: SAMHSA's National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification (Spanish Version)
                          - Resource: SchoolSafety.com Communications Center
                          - Resource: Screening and Assessment Tools
                          - Resource: Secure Our World
                          - Resource: September 2022 Spotlight on Kinship Care
                          - Resource: Service and Advocacy Organization Leaders Share Insights for an Applied Research Agenda on Black Children and Families
                          - Resource: Services to Support Children Living in Kinship and Nonrelative Foster Care 2008-2009
                          - Resource: Social Influencers of Health and Education Needs Assessment: A Pathway for School Health and Mental Health Professionals
                          - Resource: Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health Toolkit: Support for Systems and Programs
                          - Resource: Stability of Mental Disorder Prevalence Estimates Among School-aged Children and Adolescents: Findings from the Community-based Project to Learn about Youth
                          - Resource: Standing Together to Prevent Bullying
                          - Resource: State Kinship Care Contacts and Programs
                          - Resource: State Survey Analysis
                          - Resource: Stop Bullying on the Spot
                          - Resource: Stop Overdose
                          - Resource: Strategic Planning in Child Welfare: Agency Process Alignment Toolkit
                          - Resource: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health
                          - Resource: Strategies to Help Parents and Families Create Healthy and Supportive School Environments
                          - Resource: Strengthening Kinship Care and Prioritizing Equitable Support for Kinship Caregivers
                          - Resource: Study of State Policies to Prohibit Aiding and Abetting Sexual Misconduct in Schools
                          - Resource: Suicide Prevention Resource for Action
                          - Resource: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
                          - Resource: Supporting Families with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
                          - Resource: Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth
                          - Resource: Thanksgiving Day Fun Facts
                          - Resource: Thanksgiving Impaired Driving Prevention
                          - Resource: The AMBER Advocate, Issue 3, 2022
                          - Resource: The Impact of COVID-19 on College and University Students Who Self-Injure: Risks and Strategies for Mitigation
                          - Resource: The National Partnership for Student Success
                          - Resource: The Power of Partnerships: What Fatherhood Programs Can Learn from Child Welfare
                          - Resource: Tip Sheets on Everyday Parenting Topics
                          - Resource: Tourette Syndrome Education & Training
                          - Resource: Transition to Adulthood & Independent Living Outreach Toolkit
                          - Resource: Transporting Students Experiencing Homelessness
                          - Resource: Trauma-Informed Practice Strategies (TIPS) for Supporting Caregivers of Native Youth in Out-of-Home Care
                          - Resource: Tribal Customary Adoption
                          - Resource: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health
                          - Resource: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection
                          - Resource: Use of Data in Child and Family Services Reviews
                          - Resource: Using the Summer and Afterschool Needs Assessment to Drive Program Quality: A Companion Guide
                          - Resource: Vaping Prevention and Education: Resources for Talking with Students
                          - Resource: Voices of Youth
                          - Resource: What Does an Effective Support System Look Like?
                          - Resource: What Works Fact Sheet: Violence Prevention
                          - Resource: Why Some Youth Bully
                          - Resource: Working Virtually With Families of LGBTQ+ Youth.
                          - Resource: Working with Immigrant and Refugee Families: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies
                          - Resource: Working with Immigrant and Refugee Families: A Guide for Child Welfare Caseworkers
                          - Resource: Youth Advisory Councils
                          - Resource: Youth Human Trafficking Scenario Animated Series
                          - Resource: Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM) Toolkit
                          - Resource: Youth Justice Action Month: A Message from John Legend
                          - Resource: Youth Mental Health Report
                          - Resource: Youth Voices
                          - Resource: Youth Voices
                          - Resources for American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN)
                          - Second Chance Month: April 2023
                          - Social Media Campaign: Teen Tuesdays
                          - Social Media Toolkit: National Reunification Month 2022
                          - Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents
                          - Toolkit: National Foster Care Month 2022 Outreach
                          - Toolkit: Preventing Mass Attacks, Saving Lives
                          - U.S. Department of Education Creates National Parents and Families Engagement Council to Help Ensure Pandemic Recovery Efforts Meet Students’ Needs
                          - U.S. Department of Education Disperses Funds to Support Parents of Children with Disabilities
                          - Virtual Training: Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities
                          - Webinar Archive: Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Meeting
                          - Webinar Recording: Building Parent Leadership and Power to Support Faster, Lasting Reunification and Prevent System Involvement
                          - Webinar Recording: Elevating the Leadership of Students and Families with Lived Expertise
                          - Webinar Recording: Empowering Youth Finding Points of Connection
                          - Webinar Recording: Enhancing Professional Competencies for Preventing Drug and Alcohol Misuse Among College Students: Strategic Planning
                          - Webinar Recording: Providing Emergency Preparedness Supports for Students Experiencing Homelessness
                          - Webinar Recording: Public Health and STEM with the CDC
                          - Webinar Recording: Social Science Research and the Mental Health Crisis in Minority Youths and Adolescents
                          - Webinar Series: Community of Practice with Healthy Native Youth Part 2
                          - Webinar Series: Rooting Young Adult Mental Health Services in Culturally Sustaining Values & Practices
                          - Webinar Series: Supporting Gender Diverse Indigenous Youth
                          - Webinar: College Planning Made Easy
                          - Webinar: Evidence Innovation: How AmeriCorps Investments are Addressing the Opioid Crisis
                          - Webinar: Participatory Systems Change for Equity: Centering Community Wisdom and Collective Action to Transform Child-, Youth-, and Family-Serving Systems
                          - Working With LGBTQ+ Families in Foster Care and Adoption
                          - Youth Partnership: A Call to Action for State Advisory Groups (SAGs)
                          - Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Briefs 

                          - Strategic Planning in Child Welfare: Strategies for Meaningful Youth, Family, and Other Partner Engagement

### Collaboration Profiles 

                          - Program Components
                          - Promising Practices/Accomplishments
                          - Y2CONNECT.org

### Data Sources 

                          - 2011-2021 YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report

### Feature Articles 

                          - Healthy Youth Development through Self-Regulation and Co-Regulation
                          - Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C
                          - Resources to Support Youth Who Have Lost a Caregiver

### Programs 

                          - John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood

### Resources 

                          - Webinar Recording: Helping the LGBTQIA+ Community Before Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation Considerations
                          - Youth Advisory Councils

### Youth Topics 

                          - Family Engagement

## Youth Briefs

How Individualized Education Program (IEP) Transition Planning Makes a Difference for Youth with Disabilities
Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.

Youth Transitioning to Adulthood: How Holding Early Leadership Positions Can Make a Difference
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people

How Trained Service Professionals and Self-Advocacy Makes a Difference for Youth with Mental Health, Substance Abuse, or Co-occurring Issues
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.

Young Adults Formerly in Foster Care: Challenges and Solutions
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.

Coordinating Systems to Support Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Needs
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.

Civic Engagement Strategies for Transition Age Youth
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

## Main navigation

- Family Engagement
- Service Level: Engaging Families as Partners in Decision-Making
- System Level: Engaging Families as Partners in System Improvement
- Impact of Family Engagement
- Components
- Policies
- Strategies
- Special Populations
- References

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Family Engagement