In partnership with the Alliance for Early Success, ZERO TO THREE (ZTT) launched a new community of practice, Trauma-Informed Approaches to Engaging Family Advocates, to support state advocates as they continue strengthening their engagement with families to better inform their understanding of the hardships families face, co-design policy solutions and advocacy priorities to address those hardships, and support families to build their own leadership capacity. This CoP will build on a recently released ZERO TO THREE resource on the same topic.
Monthly meetings will provide a space for state advocates to reflect together on their efforts to apply trauma-informed principles to their work with families. Content and structure of the community will be co-designed with participants to create a space where members can bring challenges they want to think through together, share strategies that they’re finding effective, and discuss how to continue moving the work forward. By embedding trauma-responsive principles such as trust-building, collaboration, peer support, choice and empowerment, organizations can intentionally and thoughtfully engage families in co-creating policy solutions and advocacy activities from the very beginning.
In January’s kick-off call, participants discussed high priority topics to cover in coming months. Some of these included:
- Ways in which non-direct service policy and advocacy organizations can authentically engage the community.
- Translating individual narratives to a systems-view of the challenges facing families.
- Shifting the lens to parents as leaders and co-facilitators/owners in the work.
- Developing cross-organization and coalition policies or statements regarding how to engage families in statewide work.
- Building power in community, the need for trauma-informed practices within legislative and policymaking contexts.
- Relational practices for supporting family advocates who are navigating harm or trauma (either systemic or individual.)
The Eight states currently participating in this community are Delaware, Maryland, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
This group is one of several collaboration communities available for state organizations to accelerate their effectiveness through national expertise and peer learning.
