Child Welfare and Family Well-being Transformation Team

This Family Friday, we are highlighting the Child Welfare and Family Well-being Transformation Team. The Team, created by the North Carolina Division of Social Services (DSS) is made up of leaders across different divisions of NC Department of Health & Human Services (NC DHHS) and Family Partners with child welfare lived experience. The main focus of the team is to understand how best to provide services to help families mitigate and cope with challenges. The Transformation Team is dedicated to ensuring that children have a safe and healthy environment.

Under the direction of the Division of Social Services (DSS), the Center for Family and Community Engagement (CFACE) provides technical assistance to the North Carolina Child Welfare Family Advisory Council (CWFAC) using the Family Leadership Model (FLM). FLM provides the framework upon which the CWFAC is built. FLM consists of three tiers. The first tier is Family Leadership Exploration. In this tier, persons with lived child welfare experience (referred to as Family Partners), participate in activities such as training and support groups to learn about the child welfare system. The second tier is Family Leadership Development. In this tier, Family Partners work in collaboration with county child welfare agencies to understand local challenges and improve the service system. Finally, the third tier is the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council. In this tier, Family Partners advise the state on specific child welfare practices, policies, and state/federal plans.

The FLM, which is appropriate for use with the North Carolina Child Welfare Family Advisory Council, can also be adopted for use in other system of care agencies such as education, juvenile justice, mental health, and more! To learn more, visit https://cface.chass.ncsu.edu/services/family-engagement/family-leadership-model/