A Parent Advisory Committee is a leadership group of Program participants that provides input, guidance, and feedback to a Program on a regular basis. An active Parent Advisory Committee can be a highly effective method of supporting meaningful parent engagement, developing parent leadership skills, and supporting a Program's success.
Yet many Programs report struggling with managing Parent Advisory Committees. Funders often expect Programs to have them, yet less frequently ensure Programs have training and support to implement them well. Parents serving on these committees sometimes feel that their participation and contributions are not useful or valued.
The National Family Support Network has developed the Developing and Sustaining Effective Parent Advisory Committees Training to address these challenges and maximize the great potential of Parent Advisory Committees. Whether Programs are exploring setting up a new Parent Advisory Committee, or seeking to strengthen an existing one, this training will provide staff with the strategies and tools to maximize the great potential of shared staff-parent leadership.
The training is co-conducted by a NFSN staff member and an experienced national Parent Leader, modeling and reinforcing the importance of meaningful staff-parent partnerships.
Each time the training has been offered, 95-100% of training participants have indicated the training was effective or very effective in enhancing their knowledge and skills about developing and sustaining effective parent advisory committees and felt prepared or well-prepared to develop and sustain them.
Recommended participants:
Both Management and direct service staff who work with, or would like to develop, a Parent Advisory Committee. Program leadership should participate in order to be able to implement the model effectively. Teams are highly encouraged.
Participants will:
- Identify the benefits and challenges of parent leadership development
- Learn the key steps and timeline to create and sustain a Parent Advisory Committee
- Begin action planning for developing or strengthening a Parent Advisory Committee