Partnering with Families and Youth

In effective systems of care, families and youth are partners at policy making, management, and services levels of the system with other key stakeholders.  In addition to inviting families and youth to be part of the process, effective systems of care also support families and youth in tangible ways that enable and empower them as system builders.  In Building Systems of Care: A Primer by Sheila Pires, three main points related to involving families and youth:

• Family and youth involvement, support and development at all levels of the system must be structured, that is, deliberately oganized utilizing multiple strategies to engage the diversity of families affected by systems of care;
• Structures to involve families and youth include those at the policy, management, and services levels; and
• Careful consideration must be given to how to maximize family and youth involvement given stakeholder experiences, perceptions, and community/state/locale specific perspectives.

These and other systems building issues are highlighted in:

• Building Systems of Care: A Primer
• Building Systems of Care: A Primer Training
• Building Systems of Care: A Primer PowerPoint Presentation - Families and Youth Involvement

Additional Information and Resources

For additional information and resources go to Especially for Families.