What do family-run organizations do?

FROs provide a variety of services and supports to help families navigate complex service systems, access necessary resources, and develop the knowledge and skills they need to improve their lives and the lives of their children. To ensure that services and supports meet the needs of youth and families, family-run organizations play a wide range of pivotal roles in preparing and supporting families to participate in the service, agency and policy arenas. Examples include providing peer support and navigation for families and youth, delivering training and workforce development for professionals across child-serving systems, participating in continuous quality improvement processes, serving as members of care coordination teams, and informing public policy decisions.

What is the added value of a partnership with a family-run organization?

Partnerships with family run organizations can help families, state and federal policy makers, managed care organizations and providers achieve their shared goals of improving services and achieving positive outcomes for children, youth, young adults and their families.

Family-run organizations know how to engage families, advance positive outcomes and collaborate for change

Over 30 years of research studies cite the positive outcomes that result from engaging families. Family organizations have the specialized skills to engage families in decisions about their child’s care, as employees and board members of agencies, and to inform policy and program development.