MODULE 4: The Basics for Engaging Families
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this module are to:
- Offer insights based on feedback from families with lived experience, and from program leaders who have committed to family engagement.
- Highlight the role of trauma experienced by families prior to residential interventions, including how staff can approach family members in a way that empathizes with and honors this difficult experience.
- Describe how organizations can operationalize their commitment to family engagement through concrete strategies, such as committing to hiring Family/Parent Partners, putting a strong emphasis on cultural and linguistic competence, and working with families in their homes and communities.
- Provide strategies for respectful, culturally competent, and effective communication with family members.
The Basics for Engaging Families Resources
BBI RESOURCES:
A Building Bridges Initiative Guide: Implementing Effective Short-Term Residential Interventions. (2017, July). Building Bridges Initiative.
Building Bridges Initiative Informational Document: Permanency Practices Collaboration Strategies for Child Welfare and Residential Programs. (2019, Fall). Building Bridges Initiative.
A Building Bridges Initiative Tip Sheet: Supporting Siblings When a Brother or Sister is Receiving Residential Interventions: Key Issues and Tips for Providers and Families. (2014). Building Bridges Initiative.
Building Bridges Self-Assessment Tool [Also Available in Spanish]. (2020, September). Building Bridges Initiative.
Engage Us: A Guide Written by Families for Residential Providers. (2012, April). Building Bridges Initiative.
Family Tip Sheet (Expanded Version): Tip Sheet for Families Considering a Residential Program: Information for Families and Caregivers. [Also available in Spanish.] (Not dated). Building Bridges Initiative.
Hust, J., Kuppinger, A. (2014). Moving toward family-driven care in residential. In G.M. Blau, B. Caldwell, & R.E. Lieberman (Eds.), Residential Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Families: A Best Practice Guide (pp. 15–33). Routledge.
Kuppinger, A., Hust, J.A., Hunt, P. Mosby, P., Hammack, S., & Caldwell, B. (2020). Putting families first: Strategies to transform and advance family engagement and partnership. In B. Caldwell, R. Lieberman, J. LeBel, & G. M. Blau (Eds.), Transforming Residential Interventions: Practical Strategies and Future Directions (pp. 8–30). Routledge.
Sexton, T.L., Rios, O.G., Johnson, K.A., & Plante, B.R. (2014). Clinical strategies for engaging families. In G.M. Blau, B. Caldwell, & R.E. Lieberman (Eds.), Residential Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Families: A Best Practice Guide (pp. 34–45). Routledge.
A Tip Sheet for Families Considering a Residential Program [Brief Version, also available in Spanish.] (Not dated). Building Bridges Initiative. https://www.buildingbridges4youth.org/sites/default/files/pdf/BB-Family-Tip-Sheet-brief.pdf
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Examples of Clinical Practice Models to Engage Families as cited by Kuppinger et al., 2020:
- Multisystemic Therapy: www.mstservices.com
- Functional Family Therapy: www.fftllc.com
- Motivational Interviewing: Network of Trainers: https://motivationalinterviewing.org
- Structural Family Therapy: http://familybasedtraining.com/treatment-philosophy and https://www.minuchincenter.org/
ACRC Redefining Residential Position Papers: Becoming Family-driven (2006)
https://togetherthevoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Paper-2.pdf