The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) has just published Safety, Fairness, & Stability For Youth and Families—Recommendations to Strengthen Federal Agency Support of Family Engagement Efforts.

Pennsylvania had representation in this effort and contributed the knowledge and products developed through the Family Involvement Committee of the Chief’s Council in the last six years. Kudos to everyone who has supported the PA Family Involvement (FI) work, especially the FI Committee members and our supporters- the PA Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, the Juvenile Court Judges Commission, and the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency/Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Committee. It is heartening that the dedicated and sincere efforts of so many different stakeholders are now impacting a national dialogue.

The CJJR Family Engagement Recommendations arose from a symposium and published paper of the same name. Federal participants in the Symposium were the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Department of Education (DOE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) with regard to family engagement. These agencies identified the need for a collaborative approach among all agencies in addressing this issue. As a result, CJJR convened a meeting in September 2011. The meeting brought together federal agency representatives, community and professional organizations, parents, and alumni of the systems to create a set of recommendations for improving collaboration in how federal agencies support family engagement policies and practices at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels. The recommendations revolved around the following three areas of focus:

I. Creating and embedding family-focused and strength-based policies and practices within each agency to institutionalize the active and meaningful involvement of family members in their youth’s care;

II. Building a systemic infrastructure that formally includes families in the development and implementation of agency/system policies and practices; and

III. Supporting families to become more effective external advocates and assisting them in having their voice heard in improving policies and practices involving the engagement of families.

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