Yolo Family Strengthening Network

Overview

Yolo Family Strengthening Network

The Yolo Family Strengthening Network (YFSN) is a group of Yolo County family-serving organizations and agencies dedicated to strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect.

The YFSN welcomes people from all organizations who work directly or indirectly with children and families. YFSN meetings are held every other month. Family-serving providers can also join the YFSN listserv to find out more about local trainings, events, outreach opportunities, resources, and job opportunities related to children, families, and child abuse prevention.

For more information or to join, please contact Vanessa Batres, Child Abuse Prevention Council Program Manager, at vanessa.batres@yolocounty.org or at (530) 902-8249.

Resource Lists for Parents

The Yolo Family Strengthening Network (YFSN) Resource Lists for Parents have local and national resources related to parenting and child development to support you and your child. The five resource lists are organized by the Strengthening Families Framework Protective Factors.  The lists are updated versions of Yolo Maternal Mental Health Collaborative Resource Lists.

YFSN Goals

The YFSN supports family-serving organizations in their efforts to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect by:

  • Fostering partnerships by providing a forum for organizations and agencies to share information relevant to youth;
  • Aligning organizations to support child abuse prevention and Strengthening FamiliesTM protective factors by information sharing and presentations;
  • Offering an opportunity to leverage existing strategies and activities;
  • Supporting YFSN organizations interested in providing World Cafés for parents to build protective factors and empower parents by organizing trainings, developing materials, and providing other support as appropriate. For more information about using the World Café model, please click HERE; and
  • Improving information on resources for providers and parents in Yolo County.

Strengthening Families™ Framework

The work of the YFSN is guided by the Strengthening Families™ Framework, which is a research-informed approach to increasing family strengths, enhancing child development, and reducing the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. Created by the Center for the Study of Social Policy in 2003, it focuses on building 5 Protective Factors in families:

  1. Parental Resilience
  2. Social Connections
  3. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
  4. Concrete Support in Times of Need
  5. Social and Emotional Competence of Children

Resources on Strengthening Families™ and the 5 Protective Factors from the Center for the Study of Social Policy:

Strengthening Families™ Framework website

Research briefs and Action Sheets on the 5 Protective Factors

Core meanings of the Strengthening Families Protective Factors