Service Area

Family Empowerment

Service Area Description

The Family Empowerment Service Area includes a range of programming that is intended to create multiple pathways for families and caregivers to access support services. Family Empowerment programs support parents and caregivers in their efforts to advocate on behalf of their families, learn about their children’s social emotional development, access supports to meet basic needs and build community with other parents and caregivers.

The Family Empowerment Service Area includes DCYF’s Community Collaboratives Black to the Future and Roadmap to Peace.

Service Area Need

There is strong evidence that family strengthening interventions help counteract the stress that families facing financial insecurity endure.

Forty‐four percent of DCYF grantees serving children aged 0‐5 surveyed reported lack of access to parent classes and other supports to help children reach developmental milestones as a barrier to entering school happy, healthy, and ready to learn. Additionally, many parents indicated a desire to be more involved in their children’s education, but were unsure about how to engage.

Both fathers involved in the justice system and probation officers emphasized the need for more culturally responsive family‐oriented programs to help keep families together.

Young mothers discussed at length the desire for programming for fathers; specifically programs that help fathers better engage in their children’s lives and to support the relationship between mother and father.