Children’s Trust Fund Alliance has a diverse portfolio of training resources to support parent partnership and continues to develop these through the relationships we have been building with our parent partners.

The Alliance works with our membership and with other mission-related organizations to develop customized technical assistance (TA). The TA addresses the developmental needs of organizations who wish to be more effective at partnering with parents in their work. This can vary in scope – from recommending excellent parent speakers from our network of parent partners to designing a plan for creating a Parent Advisory Group or Council to meet an organization’s specific needs.

Building Parent Advisory Councils

The Alliance supports partnerships with parents at the national, state and program levels and offers technical assistance to develop and maintain Parent Advisory Councils and other parent partnership groups. The goal is to expand and advance the meaningful and authentic roles of parent leaders in shaping programs that are funded, the policies implemented and the strategies identified for strengthening families and communities. From self- leadership to facilitating policy change, the process of transforming a parent’s self-image from a service recipient to a powerful change agent provides lasting positive outcomes for the parent leader and the entire system.

Please email: info@ctfalliance.org for more information on how the Alliance can assist you in the development of a Parent Advisory Council in your state or local community.

Community Cafés

Community Cafés are guided conversations based on the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework, leadership development and parent partnership. These conversations are hosted by parent leaders who use the World Café technique to increase community wisdom, build parent voice and facilitate action to improve the lives of children and their families. The process is designed, planned and implemented by parents, working with their community partners.

The Alliance supports and promotes the use of Community Cafés and provides training, technical assistance and evaluation support. We do this in partnership with our parent leader consultant and other parents who are part of the Washington State Community Café Leadership Team.

Before hosting Cafés, interested parents and community members attend a co-learning group orientation that invites participants to design a culturally relevant café that focuses on:

• Promoting the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors that all families need to help their children thrive
• Gaining the leadership skills needed for transformative change
• Building and maintaining effective partnerships
• Participants leave the orientation with enough conversation material for six Cafés. Most Cafés continue long after the six conversation topics are covered, as communities continue to utilize the Community Café approach to create the change they envision.

For more information, contact us at info@ctfalliance.org.