Parent Partner Program Navigator - Center for States - Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Asian father holding a smiling baby while sitting on a chair

Capacity Building

CENTER FOR STATES

Parent Partner Program Navigator

Learn how to design, implement, and enhance a parent partner program as a strategy for engaging families through peer mentoring and support.

Are You Interested in Developing or Enhancing a Parent Partner Program Within Your Agency?

Child welfare agencies are turning to parent partner programs as a powerful approach to family engagement and empowerment. Through these programs, parents with experience in child welfare provide mentoring and support to other parents who are entering the system.

Consult the Navigator and learn to apply four domains of program development:

  • Assessing needs, readiness, and capacity
  • Program design
  • Program management
  • Engagement and partnerships

The Navigator supports child welfare administrators, staff, and family leaders through essential steps of planning and implementing successful parent partner programs.

Parent Partner Program Navigator: Designing and Implementing Parent Partner Programs in Child Welfare

Parent Partner Program Navigator. Designing and Implementing Parent Partner Programs in Child Welfare
View Resources

Do You Need a Program Manual to Support Ongoing Operations?

Use a template, guiding considerations, and sample language to develop a program manual for your agency’s parent partner program. This resource complements the Navigator and is intended to support daily operations once a parent partner program is established.

Parent Partner Program Manual: Sample Policies and Procedures

Parent Partner Program Manual: Sample Policies and Procedures
View Resource

Related Resources

Podcast

Episode 2: Prevention: Developing and Sustaining a Parent Partner Program

Listen to members of the Iowa Department of Human Services, along with Children & Families of Iowa, who helped institute and expand the State's parent partner program.

External Link

Family Empowerment E-Learning

Family leaders, child welfare agency staff, and community partners can use the online modules to learn how to build meaningful partnerships, provide peer-to-peer support to families, and promote positive outcomes through family empowerment (CEUs available).

Parent Partner Program Readiness Assessment Tool

Identify what’s already in place and what additional capacity is needed to support parent partners in your agency. This tool is part of the Navigator’s first domain and an important starting point for a new program.

Conduct assessment

Content Tags

Out-of-Home Services
Family Engagement/Empowerment
Family Reunification
Family-Focused System
CB Priorities

Connect With Us

Learn how we can help your agency build the capacity to thrive.

Email: capacityinfo@icfi.com 
Phone: 1.844.222.0272

Visit the Center for States' Contact Us webpage for more information.