CFE Family Meeting Workshop

Last week, the Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) team at Texas CASA brought together CASA programs, Child Protective Services (CPS) and Single-Source Continuum Contractors (SSCCs) from across the state for an interactive and impactful Family Meeting Facilitation Workshop. This in-person gathering provided hands-on strategies, real-world examples and skill-building activities to promote comprehensive and effective facilitation, ensuring every voice is heard and valued in family meetings.

More than 40 professionals from across the state attended the meeting, with all CPS regions represented by either CASA, CPS or SSCCs (and sometimes both!). All regions shared updates on how family meetings are working in their local community, which was a highlight of the day for many attendees:

• “Best Texas CASA training I’ve ever been to. Very good practice and things we can take back and implement at home.”
• “It was extremely helpful to discuss the different approaches that the programs take toward family meetings. I took a ton of notes on ideas to take back to my SSCC counterpart.”
• “Loved hearing about how all regions are doing with meetings. Helped me feel better about my struggles and our meetings.”
• “It was helpful to talk to other regions/SSCCs to see what they are doing.”
• “The hands-on activities and conversations were very helpful. It was great to hear how other programs put CFE into practice.”
• “I love working with CFE and the way we can all work together.”
• “The training was very informative. I learned new things and new ideas.”

Family meetings are the heart of the Collaborative Family Engagement approach, as this is where the real work happens – when the family, fictive kin and CFE team come together. These meetings support everyone to work collaboratively to meet the child’s immediate needs while they are in foster care. They also support everyone in planning and preparing for permanency, progressively engaging family and fictive kin connections into the process.

We are deeply grateful to all the attendees for taking the time and effort to attend our training on this integral piece of healing families and supporting a child’s best interests. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you!