Welcome to the Pennsylvania Meaningful Family Engagement Toolkit. This online toolkit was developed by several cross-systems partners in PA and is a collection of useful resources that are thoughtfully categorized to assist all users in building and strengthening their engagement practices. In Pennsylvania, we define meaningful engagement in child welfare as:

An active, ongoing, and genuine curiosity about an individual's history, perspectives, challenges, and accomplishments. Meaningful engagement is the purposeful and proactive partnership between caseworkers and families to increase safety for children by using solution focused inquiry to identify service needs and available supports and to work together to define achievable goals. This collaborative work will result in the development of family plans, address challenges, achieve goals, form new connections, and strengthen existing supports. It recognizes that families are the experts of their own experiences, assures their active role and voice, and empowers them to make joint decisions to ensure their children’s safety, permanency, and well-being. Meaningful engagement is a family-centered and strengths-based approach that is driven by empathy, respect, and cultural appreciation and awareness. It requires honoring each family member’s history, perspectives, challenges, and accomplishments to foster the best partnership possible. To be successful, everyone involved in the child welfare system must consistently and sincerely practice meaningful engagement. When families see themselves as part of the decision-making team, it helps ensure positive outcomes for Pennsylvania children. ”

To use the toolkit, simply find the category you would like to explore and read the descriptions of the resources in that category. Click on the description to be taken to that resource. If you have a suggested resources you would like to submit, click here. We are currently looking for resources for the following topics: Cross-systems Collaboration, Professional Development, and Navigating Custodial Relationships.

To learn more about this project, click the "About" link above.