Families face challenges every day. The stress that comes along with those challenges can impact the physical and mental health of the entire family. Families are strong when they have been successful in building protective factors that will help them during these stressful times.
A protective factor is a characteristic that makes a parent, child or family more likely to thrive and less likely to experience a negative outcome. The Strengthening Families ™ Protective Factors Framework was developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) after an extensive review of research regarding family strengthening and introduced in 2003. Today CSSP and the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds (Alliance) jointly support the Strengthening Families National Network.
We know that families in the United States and around the world have successfully and intentionally been building protective factors. By sharing some of the ways that you are doing this every day through simple and concrete steps, you will be helping other families to grow and thrive through your own examples. All families benefit from having strong protective factors.
