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Vol. 28, No. 1
April 2025
Family Engagement Committees Strengthen Policy and Practice at the Local Level
North Carolina's Child Welfare Family Leadership Model helps agencies improve services by engaging families and developing them as leaders in the child welfare system. Previously, Practice Notes explored how the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council (CWFAC) does this at the state level. In this issue, we aim to highlight the impact that this model can have on the local level.
Family Engagement Committees
Individuals with lived experience, also called Family Partners, are central to North Carolina's Child Welfare Family Leadership Model.
On the county level, Family Partners can collaborate with agency staff to incorporate the family perspective into all aspects of agency operations. For example, some train DSS staff or other parents, they co-facilitate discussions in the community, and provide peer support to parents receiving services. Others serve on Family Engagement Committees.
A Family Engagement Committee (FEC) is a county-level group that meets quarterly to discuss, implement, and support strategies to improve family engagement and permanence for children. Members of FECs always include biological parents who have been involved with child welfare; most of these committees also include others with lived experience and members of the community.
Many counties use Parent Cafés to solicit Family Partner perspectives and recruit parents for FECs. At these cafés, parents who have successfully navigated the child welfare system gather with agency partners for structured conversation. Parent Cafés are typically offered in a series, allowing participants to have an opportunity to understand the issue being discussed and to get to know each other. These cafés are useful for sharing information, obtaining feedback on best practices, and developing parent leaders.
Durham County's Story
To better understand Family Engagement Committees and the impact they have, consider the story of Durham County Department of Social Services (DSS). Formed in May 2018, Durham's Family Engagement Committee (FEC) focuses on biological parent engagement, family involvement in CFTs, and supporting kinship families. Durham's FEC informs practice and policy on the county level, providing recommendations to agency leaders and strengthening child welfare practice by gathering and sharing family perspectives.
Durham's experience shows that building an effective FEC takes time.
Kristen Dismukes
By the end of 2018, Durham's FEC had a charter and held a Parent Café to begin recruiting additional members. In 2019, they updated parents who attended the café about their goals and what they had been working on. In 2020-21, the FEC held "Dining with Child Welfare," an event that informed parents what the agency was doing to respond to their concerns. During that same period, a subcommittee of foster parents and agency staff also developed an application for family members who wanted to join the FEC. In 2022, the FEC updated its charter and began developing a manual. In 2023-24, the FEC continued to revise tools and documents, focused on recruitment and retention, held meetings about data collection and their model, and presented at an international conference.
Creating and sustaining Durham's FEC has not always been easy. Challenges included scheduling conflicts, reimbursement delays, and competing work priorities. Recruiting and maintaining Family Partners requires an ongoing effort, but Durham DSS is committed. They are working to raise awareness among county commissioners and other officials on the impact of the FEC on child welfare practice, including the families served. They believe that this may lead to greater support, increased funding, and reduced bureaucracy.
Today, Durham's FEC is working to prepare families for Parent Cafés and other meetings, participating in Family Agency Collaborative Training Team (FACTT) meetings, and speaking at joint FEC and CWFAC meetings. FEC members say that Durham DSS leaders are committed to being at the table to learn from families, and they value the FEC as a safe space for uncomfortable conversations.
Kristen Dismukes, a Family Partner on Durham's FEC, is hopeful. "The FEC is committed to preparing a platform for family voices and serves as a liaison between families and agency staff members," she says. "My goal is that my journey through the child welfare system will benefit families in Durham County and will assist in policies and procedural changes."
As a veteran Family Partner and CWFAC member, Teka Dempson states, "Invest in us and we will invest in the process for better outcomes in our life and service system."
How to Form an FEC
Be strategic and intentional from the beginning. Child welfare staff, agency leaders, and families must be invested. Being a Family Partner requires a time commitment and a willingness to engage in difficult work.
Agency staff must be motivated to find families willing to challenge the system. Recruit more Family Partners than you think you will need so if someone is unavailable, you have others to turn to. It takes dedication to create the processes needed to build trust, but it is worth it. Expect that some families will be triggered by topics discussed; be ready in advance to support them.
When implementing a Family Engagement Committee, consider the following:
Readiness. Families and agencies need to be able to assess their readiness to engage families as partners.
- Spend time planning, preparing, and developing processes before recruiting Family Partners. Ensure roles and expectations are clear. For example, Family Partners should be the only ones to bring up their history with child welfare in meetings/events.
- Create opportunities for Family Partners to start where they are comfortable. For instance, if families are not ready to serve on a committee, they might still be willing to help improve programming for other families (See box X. for ways Family Partners can help with programming).
- Be prepared to listen to feedback and experiences from families.
- Expect topics that will require the committee to slow down and brainstorm to ensure processes will be implemented effectively and have an impact.
- Develop readiness questions and an application process for potential Family Partners. Ensure that they are ready and able to contribute to the process (i.e., their case has been closed by DSS for a certain period), and they have access to county training and policies.
Ways Family Partners Can Help with Programming:
- Review and provide feedback on a flyer
- Help to lead a support group at your agency
- Solicit feedback from other families
- Co-train staff members
- Co-facilitate Parent Cafés
- Co-present on your program to the community
- Serve on agency committees, boards
- Serve on a family advisory council/committee
Infrastructure. Consider what infrastructure your agency needs to sustain the FEC and ensure agencies and Family Partners are full partners in the process.
- Hold Parent Cafés. This is an effective strategy for soliciting Family Partner perspectives and recruiting parents for FECs. Ensure Family Partners are involved from the beginning.
- Create a charter. Co-develop, review, and update a charter that provides clarity to the roles and expectations for FEC membership (e.g., training and meeting participation requirements).
- Develop a clear plan for a mentorship process with a seasoned Family Partner. Family Partners should receive support to participate in meetings; this includes sharing materials and information before meetings and providing opportunities to debrief afterwards.
- Provide monthly meetings at DSS, including "Lunch and Learns." Create a protocol for what is needed for families to attend meetings or events. For example, the agency should provide childcare, food, and opportunities for families to talk in large and small groups.
- Co-create a manual to onboard new Family Partners.
- Establish a plan for training and skill development (e.g., co-creating presentation materials, holding regular practice sessions, providing ongoing education about the child welfare system).
- Ensure financial support. Demonstrate that you value Family Partners by financially compensating them for their time and work.
- Create feedback loops and DSS updates. This should include the voices of families who are not Family Partners. These processes keep everyone invested in the work, demonstrate respect, support transparency, and build trust.
To Learn More
For more information on how FECs may help your county, please reach out to the Department of Social Services in Durham through Erika Ward or Natasha Harcum.
Thank you to the NCDHHS DSS' Deborah Day, the CWFAC's Teka Dempson, and Durham FEC members for contributing to this article.