Family engagement is an ongoing process that includes families as active decision makers and equal partners in service delivery at individual, organizational and system levels. Families are integrated as important partners on all our key projects and initiatives, through our family advisory council.

Quality standard for family engagement

The quality standard for family engagement describes eight principles that contribute to high-quality family engagement. The standard details background, rationale, best practices and practical approaches for each principle, and defines what each one means for families, agencies and decision makers.

Visit the engagement page to learn more about quality standards and why we need them.

Resources to support implementation

Implementing the quality standard for family engagement means more families are engaged in a more meaningful way, informing services and leading to better service experiences and outcomes. And we want to support implementation in any way we can! Please explore the resources below and get in touch with our engagement team if you have specific questions.

Measurement surveys

Our measurement surveys look at key indicators for all the principles that make up the quality standard for family engagement. These surveys can be administered to families, staff and other partners at the organizational, community or system level. This provides a 360-degree snapshot, allowing users to determine a benchmark and check their progress over time.

Please email our engagement team for more information.
Developing core and implementation teams

Based on implementation science, this resource describes the purpose and structure of core teams and implementation teams. It was developed to support stakeholders, organizations, communities and systems in their initial efforts to implement the quality standard for family engagement.
Introduction video

This video is geared toward organizations and communities interested in implementing the quality standards for youth and family engagement. It’s intended to provide an orientation to the quality standards, including defining key terminology and introducing the principles. 
 Action planning templates

Action planning agenda template

This agenda template provides a sample plan and activities to support the core team to create an action plan. An action planning meeting could be a full-day meeting, or could be accomplished through several shorter meetings, as needed.

Project-based action plan template

Use the project-based action plan template to help identify how organizational milestones can be mapped onto corresponding quality statements to show how a project aligns with the quality standard for youth or family engagement — and how alignment can be enhanced. For help getting started, refer to the example project-based action plan.

Principles-based action plan template

Use the principles-based action plan template to help structure planning for activities drawing upon the best practices and principles of the quality standard for family engagement.