BPNN 6th Annual Virtual Convening

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Participants had nothing but praise for the Birth Parent National Network (BPNN) 6th Annual Virtual Convening. If you were a participant and want to review the materials or if you missed the convening, the recordings, slides and handouts are are available now for viewing in the Virtual Convening Materials list.

The first segment focused on the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework and the Alliance’s highly regarded training, Bringing the Protective Factors to Life in Your Work. Maureen Hollocker, Alliance Lead Trainer, and LaCrisha Rose, Alliance Master Trainer, asked participants “What could move families from a constant state of SURVIVING to THRIVING?” Then they promoted a strengths-based approach to serving families and children. Tecoria Jones, BPNN member from South Carolina who helped facilitate the convening, pointed out, “We all need something sometimes. No silos! Every family, every person deserves to have basic needs met!”

In the second portion of the convening, participants heard about Communities of Hope (COH), a unique concept developed by Casey Family Programs. Margie Hunt, Senior Director of National Partnerships at Casey Family Programs talked about how children and families can best thrive when they have the opportunity to live and grow in caring and supportive communities and this work helps make that possible. The COH vision focuses on transforming the child welfare system into a child and family well-being system by helping communities support families in building their protective factors.Then Natalie Towns, Prevention Section Director of Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), shared some powerful examples about how Georgia DFCS is partnering with families and communities to implement the Georgia State of Hope initiative throughout the state.

Help Us Make the Case for Continued Support

At a time when there is such critical need at every turn, we need to make the case for additional support for children and families dealing with the challenges of COVID-19. Collecting and sharing the stories of families during the pandemic is one way to put a face on these real and everyday challenges to help systems leaders and policymakers prioritize the needs of families.

We have created a short questionnaire to give families a way to share your stories with the media. The questionnaire is simple and submission will be followed up by a contact from the Alliance. Stories are powerful – so if you have a story to share or know of a family that you work with that might be willing to share their story, please complete the questionnaire HERE or share this link with others: https://tinyurl.com/y6cel9g2

The Children’s Trust Fund Alliance joined with a group of parents from the BPNN to produce these issue briefs. They include the perspectives of parents with life experiences in using services to strengthen their families and focus on timely and important topics.

• What Parents Say About…Supporting Families to Provide a Strong Start for Their Young Children
• What Parents Say About…Building a 21st Century Community-Based Approach to Strengthening Families
• What Parents Say About…Keeping Families Together and Strong Through Prevention and Early Intervention Strategies
• What Parents Say About…Prevention Strategies that Work to Keep Families Together, Resilient and Strong
• What Parents Say About…Using the Protective Factors to Understand Substance Abuse and Recovery
• What Parents Say About…What Works in Substance Abuse Recovery to Strengthen Protective Factors in Families and Ensure Children’s Safety and Well-Being