Protective factors are characteristics that buffer the potential impact of risk and lead to greater wellbeing. This course provides an overview of a particular set of protective factors shown through research, when present and robust in families, to strengthen families and reduce the risk that child maltreatment will occur.
The training explores a framework which identifies and defines these family protective factors and articulates actions that anyone who is concerned with family wellbeing can enact to promote building these characteristics in families. The course also briefly delves into community conditions that promote family strength.
The information in this course comes from the Center of the Study of Social Policy, who first identified family protective factors as the Strengthening Families Frameworktm, as well as the Children’s Bureau, the CDC and other partners who focus on building family strengths.
Participants who complete this course will be able to:
- List at least six family protective factors that research has shown to reduce the risks of child abuse and neglect.
- Explain how protective factors can impact lifelong health and wellbeing.
- Identify strategies that family support workers, educators, and other practitioners can enact to partner with families in order to promote protective factors.
