Bringing Protective Factors to Life in the Child Welfare System New Hampshire

Risk Factors Protective and Promotive Factors Protective Factors: conditions or attributes of individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that mitigate or eliminate risk Promotive Factors: conditions or attributes of individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that actively enhance well-being Big Idea 1: Protective and Promotive Factors

the protective factors framework Parental Resilience Social Connections Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development Concrete Support in Times of Need Social and Emotional Development

Implementation in Child Welfare Training for child welfare workers Training for foster parents Child welfare practice model Assessment tools Differential response New partnerships with ECE programs

What does the research indicate? PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, STRONG FAMILIES AND OPTIMAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT ARE ALL TIED TOGETHER. RISK IS NOT THE SOLE PREDICTOR OF CHILD MALTREATMENT SINCE PROTECTIVE FACTORS AND CAPACITIES WHEN ENHANCED, CAN MITIGATE THE OCCURRENCE OF CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT. FIVE SPECIFIC PROTECTIVE FACTORS ARE LINKED TO PREVENTING CA/N, STRONG FAMILIES AND OPTIMAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT THESE PROTECTIVE FACTORS CAN BE BUILT INTO MANY DIFFERENT SETTINGS.

What we know about the developmental needs of children in Child Welfare Childhood trauma can have a cascading impact on ongoing development Protective factors are important and can buffer and mitigate the impacts of trauma For optimal development these children need parents and caregivers (birth, foster and adoptive) who exhibit the factors and have the capacity to support the development of protective factors in their children’s lives

Therefore….. Children in families involved with child welfare need particular focus on their developmental needs Developmental supports for these children must be informed by an understanding of the impact of trauma on development There must also be intentionality about how to support the capacity of families and caregivers to keep children safe and support their early development

Fundamental shift in worker family relationship Protective factors at the heart of a family- centered, strength-based practice approach Applying the new brain science to create a developmentally informed model Moving from risk mitigation to well-being promotion A Strengthening Families Paradigm for Child Welfare

A five point agenda 1.Ensure that children in CW are connected to quality developmental supports 2. Support those who work with and support children to understand how to recognize and address trauma 3. Support child welfare staff to recognize and respond to the developmental needs of children and youth 4. Build partnerships focused around the protective factors 5. Support parents-birth, foster, and adoptive in their role as protective factor builders for themselves and their children

Applying a Protective Factors Framework Across the Child Welfare Continuum Prevention/diversionIntake/InvestigationCase PlanningIn-home careOut-of-home carePermanency, Exit and After Care Systems Infrastructure

Promoting Well-being through the Community Use the protective factors as a framework for new partnerships Expand definition of CAN prevention to include building protective factors Use PF as a frame for the prevention activities funded by the CW system AND… Engage partners with specific expertise in child development in prevention work Prevention

Protective & Promotive Factors in Practice Assess not just around risk, but around protective factors Use the protective factors to inform planning around differential response or other diversion activities AND… Ensure that developmental progress is assessed as part of early assessments Intake and Investigation

Protective & Promotive Factors in Practice Include specific objectives around protective factors within case plans Develop case planning tools that include an orientation around building protective factors Engage partners that can support the building of protective factors in family team meetings and other case planning processes AND… Ensure that developmental supports are included as part of the case plan Case Planning

Protective & Promotive Factors in Practice Use the protective factors as a frame for child welfare practice to build capacity of families Infuse a focus on building protective factors into contracts for those working with families (family preservation, in-home services) Use the protective factors as a lens to help determine readiness for case closing AND… Help families understand how and why to access quality developmental supports Ensure that providers working with these children understand how trauma impacts development In-Home Care

Protective & Promotive Factors in Practice Use the protective factors as a frame for child welfare practice to build capacity of birth families and foster families and support their capacity to work together Use the protective factors as a lens for determining readiness for return home Use the protective factors as lens for developing a course of action for supporting pregnant and parenting teens while in care and transitioning to independent living AND… Ensure that all children in care are connected to quality developmental supports Ensure that providers working with these children understand how trauma impacts development Out-of-home Care

Use the protective factors as a frame to connect families to after care services Integrate protective factors into contracts for youth aging out of care Use protective factors as a frame to construct ongoing support for adoptive families AND… Ensure that adoptive and reunifying families understand the importance of quality developmental supports, how to access developmental services, and the impact of trauma on development Permanency, Exit and After Care Protective & Promotive Factors in Practice

Quality Improvement Processes Quality case reviews New initiatives Program improvement Plans Data collection, analysis and reporting Systems Infrastructure

Ensure workers have understanding of development stages and needs of children Realign training to include protective and promotive factors as a part of family centered, trauma informed practice. Create opportunities for cross training of child welfare staff with ece, family support and staffs from other disciplines. Support training of contract and service agency partners Professional Development system Systems Infrastructure

Connecting Results to Financing Purchase of service and contracting Use factors to inform results expectations Construct performance monitoring elements based on the factors Systems Infrastructure

Making small but significant shifts in Practice Practice Skills, Tools, Processes, Resources Engaging Assessing Decision making Planning Intervening

Traumatic Stress