Strength-Based Approaches to Engaging Families

Parents and caregivers have the most influence on a child’s success. As educators and youth-serving professionals, our efforts to support young people and achieve our organizational goals are enhanced when we involve parents in our work and engage with them. However, we often are met with barriers when trying to accomplish this. This training will provide strategies to eliminate barriers and explore strengths-based approaches when engaging with and assisting parents/caregivers in raising healthy children.

After the training, participants will be able to:

Define the Stages of Change and understand how they factor into a parent’s motivation toward engagement.

Identify common barriers experienced when working with parents/ caregivers and learn strategies for removing them.

List tips for finding and tapping into each family’s strengths.

Describe the elements of the successful and culturally competent communications needed in stressful situations and the role empathy plays in parent/caregiver decision making

Facilitator: Calley Crews Gerber, MA, Student Assistance Specialist, Caron Treatment Center

Host: MNPS Community Achieves

Host or Publisher Nashville AfterZone Alliance (NAZA)