• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Contact Us

English Español

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Texas System of Care

Texas System of Care

Achieving well-being for children and youth

  • About Us
    • Overview
    • Communities
    • Children and Youth Behavioral Health Subcommittee
    • Strategic Plan
    • Reports
    • Our Team
  • Initiatives
    • Youth Voice
    • Family Voice
    • Cultural and Linguistic Competence
      • CLC Trainings
    • Trauma-Informed Care
    • Transition-Age Youth
    • Texas Building Bridges Initiative
    • Wraparound
  • Highlights
  • Get Involved
    • Events
    • Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest
    • CMHAD Texas Toolkit
    • Youth Engagement
    • Family Leadership
    • Community Development
  • News & Resources
    • Resource Library
    • Texas System of Care Toolkit
    • CMHAD Texas Toolkit
    • Newsroom
    • External Resources

Family Voice

Overview

Families are at the heart of the system of care approach. Supporting strong family relationships is the key to child-serving systems that work well. It is the parents, guardians, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and so many other people who make up a child’s family and as such know, love, and support them in a way that caring professionals just cannot. The insights of these individuals need to be front and center in every aspect of a system of care — including policy making, program design, service delivery, quality improvement, and workforce development. If there are professionals coming together to discuss services and supports for children and youth, then families should be there as well to drive the process. Texas System of Care supports a number of initiatives to strengthen the impact of family voice within the state.

Download Family Engagement Poster

How We Support

Family Leadership Development

Texas System of Care invests in the leadership skills of family members. This investment can take many forms, including hosting leadership trainings, mentoring by experienced family leaders, and support for the creation of products and tools for family leaders to share lessons with other family leaders.

Download the Amplify Your Voice: Advancing Your Skills as a Family Leader workbook.

Family Partners

A Family Partner is a parent or guardian who has lived experience raising a child with mental, emotional, or behavioral health challenges. Family Partners use their lived experience for the purpose of education, role modeling, and providing hope as it relates to the recovery process. Texas System of Care promotes the inclusion of Family Partners in the workforce, integrated within all child-serving systems. Texas System of Care provides technical assistance on the recruitment, hiring, supervision, and retention of Family Partners and works to enhance policy and financing support for this workforce.

Family Voice in System of Care Communities

To ensure families are driving decision-making about the local system of care, families should be critical members on governance boards, advisory boards, and workgroups. Families should be active participants in decisions about programs, hiring, financing, and evaluation. Texas System of Care helps communities to identify families to fill these roles and supports families and other leaders to engage in genuine partnership and collaboration.

Family Voice in State-Level Collaborations

Texas System of Care also works with state agencies and organizations to engage family members in decision-making roles. This includes promoting the value of hiring family members with lived experience in key roles in organizations, engaging families on advisory committees and workgroups, and seeking meaningful input from families involved in child-serving systems.

Texas Family Voice Network

Texas System of Care supports the the Texas Family Voice Network (TxFVN), a 501(c) organization that lifts family voices and supports the development of family leaders from across the state. TxFVN strives to be informed change agents recognizing that families are powerful when united in a common goal. TxFVN members serve in an advisory role to Texas System of Care and partner on state initiatives that impact children’s mental health.

Interested in joining the Texas Family Voice Network? Learn more.

Primary Sidebar

Join our newsletter

Recent Posts

  • Mental Health Resources
  • Winners of Mini Grant for Youth-Led Mental Wellness Projects Announced
  • Mini Grant for Youth-Led Mental Wellness Projects
  • Texas System of Care Community Quarterly Call Recording
  • Take Part in Children’s Mental Health Acceptance 2022
We want to hear from you.

Reach out to learn more about us or request technical assistance.

Footer

Texas System of Care

Acheiving well-being for children and youth.

Contact Us

English Español

Looking for Services?

Sitemap

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Initiatives
  • Get Involved
  • Communities

Archive

  • Resources
  • Newsroom
  • Events
  • Highlights
  • Newsletters

Newsletter

Get the latest news, events and announcements straight to your inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2023 Texas System of Care. Return to top