Community-Based Pathways

Introduction

The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has created a transformative opportunity to re-imagine child welfare. It shifts the focus to providing evidence-based prevention programs, moving away from practices centered on family separation and foster care placements. FFPSA expands the scope of services to include candidates for foster care, their parents, and kin, ensuring a broader reach of support. These services are accessible through community-based organizations rather than traditional child protection agencies, fostering a more localized and culturally relevant approach.

Community-Based Pathways offer families access to essential, culturally relevant local services without requiring direct interaction with Child Protective Services (CPS). These pathways also enable approved entities such as community-based organizations, prevention service providers, and public agencies to deliver services and manage the required administrative functions under Family First.

Washington state has proposed expanding its prevention plan by establishing a community-based pathway. This means:

  • Engaging lived experts to ensure that services are informed by those with firsthand experience.
  • Partnering with providers committed to delivering community-centered and effective support.

This approach reflects a broader vision of child welfare, prioritizing prevention, inclusivity, and collaboration to strengthen families.

Definition

A “community pathway” is any avenue that families can use to access Title IV-funded prevention services through Family First outside of the traditional child welfare service delivery and case management context. Community pathways can help promote family stability by providing culturally relevant services and support. These pathways can help families receive support without being unnecessarily involved with child welfare interventions.

Goals

A community-based approach offers families — especially those who may distrust public entities or see child protection as punitive—a fundamentally different experience. It empowers communities to strengthen families upstream, reducing the risk of maltreatment and the need for child welfare involvement. The key objectives for the Family First Community-Based Pathway include:

  • Reducing Child Welfare Involvement: Providing families with access to culturally relevant local services reducing the need for formal child protection involvement.
  • Strengthening Families and Communities: Empowering families through trusted community partners to ensure children remain safely with their families whenever possible.
  • Expanding Prevention Services: Increasing the availability of evidence-based services that address mental health, substance use, and in-home parenting skills to support families in need.
  • Inclusive and Holistic Support: Collaborating with community organizations, tribal partners, and other community-based organizations to create a coordinated, comprehensive service network that meets diverse family needs.
  • Engaging Community Feedback: Conducting forums and listening sessions to involve lived experts, partners, and providers in shaping the prevention plan.
  • Long-Term Sustainability: Building infrastructure to ensure programs are effective, equitable, and financially sustainable over time.

These goals align with Washington's broader vision of keeping families together and addressing root causes of family challenges through proactive, community-based approaches.

DCYF Community Pathway Descriptions and Definitions

The DCYF team will gather insights from the expansion of three community pathway initiatives to inform the future design of the Family First Community-Based Pathway. These efforts will provide valuable feedback to help shape a more effective, integrated model for supporting families and preventing child welfare involvement.

FRCs are placed-based organizations that provide a single-point of entry for a range of services and resources for diverse families and children in the community, these services increase protective factors, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. FRCs are independently operated.

For more information regarding FRCs, please review the Washington State Family Resource Center Landscape Study.

Technical Assistance

Chapin Hall plays a key role in Washington state's implementation of the FFPSA by partnering with DCYF to develop community-based pathways. They provide strategic guidance, research, and tools to ensure prevention services are trauma-informed and culturally responsive..

Chapin Hall collaborates with policymakers, frontline workers, and other partners to build evidence-based solutions tailored to local needs, aiming for positive change by leveraging the strengths of children, families, and communities. This partnership supports Washington's comprehensive prevention strategy, focusing on keeping children safely at home and strengthening family support systems.