Chapter 1: Approaches to Promoting Well-Being

Chapter 1: Approaches to Promoting Well-Being Protective Factors Protective factors are conditions or attributes of This chapter highlights approaches developed by the individuals, families, communities, or the larger society Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the that reduce or eliminate risk and promote healthy Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), and the development and well-being of children and families. Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). Key These factors help ensure that children and youth function differences among these approaches include the following: well at home, in school, at work, and in the community, today and into adulthood. Protective factors also can serve • focuses on specific in-risk populations, whereas the as buffers, helping parents who might otherwise be at other approaches are based on research on general at- risk of abusing their children to find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress. Research has found that successful interventions must both reduce risk factors and promote protective factors to ensure child and family well-being. There is growing interest in understanding the complex ways in which these risk and protective factors interact within the context of a child’s family, community, and society to affect both the incidence and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Populations of focus. The ACYF conceptual model risk populations. • Domains of the social ecology. Social ecological theory examines how individuals exist within and are shaped by their individual characteristics, families and other relationships, their communities, and society as a whole. All approaches define their protective factors in ways that apply across the social ecology; however, the parts that are emphasized vary depending on how the protective factors were studied for different populations. Despite these differences, there are strong Established Protective Factors Approaches similarities and alignments across the approaches. There are many protective factors approaches in development same: promotion of child, youth, and family well- and use by various agencies, programs, and practitioners being. Other similarities include the following: The overarching goal of these approaches is the who seek to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child well-being. While some approaches are more grounded in research than others, there is no single “right way” to talk Social Ecological Model for Preventing and Responding to Child Maltreatment about protective factors. The most important message is that focusing on protective factors is critical and sorely needed for the prevention of child maltreatment and promotion of child and family well-being. 4 INDIVIDUAL FAMILY COMMUNITY SOCIETY • • They are research informed and have Essentials for Childhood been reviewed by experts. CDC’s Essentials for Childhood model identifies the They describe positive conditions or attributes importance of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments as key components in preventing child of individuals, families, or communities that maltreatment. It then proposes strategies that communities reduce risk factors and help to promote • child, youth, or family well-being. can use to promote the types of relationships and They provide varying degrees of guidance productive citizens. The goals of Essentials for Childhood environments that help children grow up to be healthy and for practical application in programming include the following: for families, children, or youth. • • They identify positive social connections, stable and nurturing relationships and environments resilience, and social-emotional competence and prevent child maltreatment. as specific protective factors. • Raise awareness and commitment to promote safe, They can be used to inform policymakers, practitioners, and consumers. • Use data to inform actions. • Create the context for healthy children and families through norms change and programs. • Child Welfare Information Gateway has developed an issue Create the context for healthy children and families through policies. brief, Protective Factors Approaches in Child Welfare, about how protective factors align across these four approaches. Strengthening Families™ and Youth Thrive™ Strengthening Families and Youth Thrive are protective factors frameworks developed by CSSP. The first focuses on families of young children (ages 0–5), and the other on youth ages 11–26. Each includes five factors: Strengthening Families Protective Factors Youth Thrive Protective and Promotive Factors • • • • • • • • • • Parental resilience Social connections Knowledge of parenting and child development Concrete support in times of need Social-emotional competence of children Youth resilience Social connections Knowledge of adolescent development Concrete support in times of need Cognitive and social-emotional competence in youth Making Meaningful Connections 5 Each protective factor is supported by research from These children are primarily in-risk (versus at-risk), so the several fields of study. The Strengthening Families focus of the literature review was to identify factors most framework includes a policy component for applying salient for those already coping with adverse experiences protective factors in practice settings across multiple and situations. Through an extensive review of available service systems. The Youth Thrive framework describes research, ACYF identified 10 protective factors with the how youth can be supported by parents and practitioners strongest evidence for ACYF populations. These exist at in ways that advance healthy development and well-being multiple levels of the social ecology: and reduce the impact of negative life experiences. • Self-regulation skills ACYF’s goal in completing a comprehensive literature review • Relational skills • Problem-solving skills policy approaches aimed at increasing protection; enhancing • Involvement in positive activities resilience; and promoting physical, mental, social, and Relationship Level and developing the resulting conceptual model was to provide information that can be used to guide practice and emotional well-being for the children, youth, and families • Parenting competencies • Positive peers domestic violence, pregnant and parenting youth, runaway • Caring adults and homeless youth, victims of child abuse and neglect, and Community Level who are the focus of ACYF services. This includes five vulnerable populations: children and youth exposed to youth in or transitioning out of foster care. 6 Individual Level ACYF Protective Factors Conceptual Model • Positive community environment • Positive school environment • Economic opportunities Protective Factors in This Guide In this way, although different organizations use varying Since 2007, this Resource Guide has employed a protective the various models and frameworks complement one factors framework adapted from the Strengthening Families framework developed by CSSP, with the addition of a sixth factor: nurturing and attachment. Attachment refers to the relationship that develops as a result of a caregiver’s sensitive attention to a child and the child’s responses to the caregiver. A strong and secure emotional bond between children and their caregivers is critical for children’s physical, social, and emotional development, including their ability to form trusting approaches to promote protective factors, it is clear that another, and in fact overlap in many areas. This year’s Resource Guide, while continuing to draw primarily from the Strengthening Families framework with the addition of nurturing and attachment, highlights elements from the CDC and ACYF efforts where synergies exist. By implementing a comprehensive protective factors approach, we move closer to a prevention-oriented society, where all sectors recognize the value of health and wellbeing for all individuals, families, and communities. relationships and to exhibit positive behaviors. Helping parents learn and practice the nurturing skills that lead to strong, secure attachments is a well-supported pathway to positive outcomes for children. While “nurturing and attachment” is not delineated as a separate protective factor within Strengthening Families, it is an implicit and valued component to the entire framework. Similarly, CDC’s Essentials for Childhood promotes nurturing relationships on the societal level, while the ACYF protective factors conceptual model acknowledges the importance of nurturing and attachment in factors such as “relational skills,” “parenting competencies,” and “caring adults.” Making Meaningful Connections 7 Implementing a Protective Factors Approach Implementing a protective factors approach involves more than changes to individual practice. Programs, policies, and systems also must adapt in order to create incentives, The general approach is as follows: • tables (six or eight participants per table) and including capacity, and impetus for individual workers to take on a protective factors approach. The following are some of the ways that State and local agencies are implementing food, tablecloths, flowers, and other accessories. • leads the discussion, using carefully crafted questions. • question. Table hosts convey the key points from to engage parents directly in building protective factors for the previous group’s conversation to help each themselves and their families. Adapted from the World Café, conversation build on the last. Each session involves parent cafés and community cafés are structured, small-group about three interrelated questions. conversations that bring parents together to discuss issues that In many cases, cafés are offered in series. Café series Although they stem from the same model, there are some differences between parent cafés and community cafés, as illustrated in the following table. provide an opportunity to build relationships among parents over time, and to engage them in thinking in a deeper and ongoing way about a particular issue. Parent Café Community Café The focus is directly on sharing information about and discussing the protective factors. The focus is on using the protective factors to discuss an issue of concern to the community. Café design Cafés follow a set format to work through each of the protective factors. Each café is designed by its hosts to address an issue of concern. Local variation There is room for local and cultural modifications within the structure. Each café is different; cultural modifications are encouraged. Be Strong Families The Community Café Approach to building protective factors For more information 8 After a short period of time on the first question, the groups intermingle at new tables for a second Parent cafés and community cafés are important tools used are important to them. Parents are invited to join conversations at these intimate café tables, where a trained parent leader protective factors. Parent Cafés and Community Cafés A casual café environment is created by setting up small Cafés are being implemented across the country in community their strengths and concrete, actionable areas where they centers, schools, early care and education programs, and other can improve their practice. An online version of the self- settings where parents and caregivers gather. For example: assessment allows programs to track which items they have • First Five of Alameda County, CA, partners with Oakland Parents Together to bring parent cafés to public schools • focus are, and what action plans are in process. in Oakland. The self-assessment is designed to be completed by a team In Wisconsin, Waukesha County’s Department of Health that includes at least one parent, one staff member, and and Human Services sponsors parent cafés that bring together foster parents, biological parents with open child welfare cases, and Head Start parents to the program director. When team members complete the self-assessment on their own and bring it to a meeting, differences in perspective are revealed that can point the participate in café conversations about the protective way to small but significant changes. factors. Building on the success of these efforts, three Programs have used the self-assessment in a variety of additional Wisconsin counties began implementing parent cafés in 2013. • completed, where their program strengths and areas of Community cafés are being implemented in communities ways. For example: • surprised to learn through the self-assessment process throughout Alaska with support from the Alaska that parents and staff members were not aware that she Children’s Trust Fund. • In one early care and education program, the director was had many materials available to share about parenting A number of States have used the café process to and child development. In response, a brochure rack was engage a broad range of parent leaders who have been placed in a common area, stocked with resources that had trained as café hosts but also manage and lead the café previously been in a file cabinet in the director’s office. The process throughout the State. materials increased parents’ knowledge of parenting and child development and even became a catalyst for parents to connect with one another around common concerns, such as toddler tantrums. • Strengthening Families Self-Assessment The Strengthening Families self-assessment is a simple tool to help programs identify practical changes that will enhance their ability to build protective factors. It was developed based on a yearlong study of exemplary program practice involving nearly 100 programs across the In several States, groups of early care and education center directors have come together to complete one section of the self-assessment at a time and discuss the strengths and areas for improvement they identified. Meeting regularly over time, they became a learning community, sharing their experiences implementing changes in their programs and supporting each other in continuing the work. country. The self-assessment helps programs identify both Making Meaningful Connections 9 FRIENDS Protective Factors Survey • In Michigan, all direct service grants that are funded through the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) administer the Protective The FRIENDS Protective Factors Survey is a pre-post Factors Survey to program participants. Systematic use evaluation tool for use with caregivers receiving child of the survey has improved CTF’s ability to assess and maltreatment prevention services. It is a self-administered report on participant outcomes from a diverse array of survey that measures protective factors in five areas: family programs. In the last reporting period, improvements were functioning/resiliency, social support, concrete support, seen across each subscale, with the greatest improvement in nurturing and attachment, and knowledge of parenting/ the area of family functioning. child development. The primary purpose of the Protective Factors Survey is to provide feedback to agencies for continuous improvement and evaluation purposes. The survey results are designed to help agencies measure changes in protective factors Several organizations have developed training tools to and identify areas where workers can focus on increasing support implementation of a protective factors approach. individual family protective factors. For example: These include the following: • The Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA), Washington, DC, is using the Protective Factors The FRIENDS Online Learning Center is a resource designed to meet the demands of providing high- its parent education and support grantees. Findings quality, subject-specific training that is free of charge for thus far indicate an improvement in family functioning, CBCAP State Lead Agencies, their grantees, and others. decreased risk, and increased protective factors. CFSA The Online Learning Center offers continuing education will work with FRIENDS to analyze the program survey and professional development opportunities that are scores to determine whether program interventions available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. that enhances family protective factors. • • Survey for ongoing evaluation and assessment with were meaningful in achieving positive behavior change • The National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds offers a free online curriculum. Developed by the Since 2010, New York State Family Resource Centers, Alliance in partnership with members of the Alliance’s supported through the Community-Based Child Abuse Early Childhood Initiative and CSSP, “Bringing the Prevention (CBCAP) program, have administered the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work—A Protective Factors Survey to participants before and Resource for Action” includes seven 2-hour modules: an after receiving services. The survey has helped to overview, one module for each protective factor, and a demonstrate statistically significant improvements in final “review and reflection” module. family functioning among populations at historically greater risk for child maltreatment, including those with low incomes and less than a high school education. 10 Online Protective Factors Training Protective Factors Frameworks for Child Welfare Practice A growing number of child welfare jurisdictions are adopting a protective factors approach for child welfare practice. These jurisdictions are looking at protective factors not just as a prevention strategy but as a framework for thinking about how they can work with caregivers in ways that enhance their ability to nurture and support the well-being of the children in their care and reduce the likelihood of future maltreatment. For example, Connecticut has adopted a Strengthening Families practice model for its child welfare services. All families that are part of the Family Assessment Response track (an alternative response track for families where there is no immediate safety threat) are assessed not just for risk but also for protective factors. New training materials and guidance have been developed to support caseworkers in applying a protective factors approach in key aspects of casework practice. Making Meaningful Connections 11