Presenter: Mary Ellen Peterson, retired CEO of Parents Helping Parents

This Zoom webinar is offered for FIRST 5 Partners and other local professionals such as Early Interventionists, Social Workers, Home Visitors, Childcare and Preschool providers, Family Resource Center staff, Therapeutic Service Providers, and Early Childhood Education students. Parents are also welcome.

The Strengthening Families framework is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. States apply the Strengthening Families approach in early childhood, child welfare, child abuse prevention, and other child- and family-serving systems.

It is based on engaging families, programs, and communities in building five key Protective Factors:
– Parental resilience
– Social connections
– Knowledge of parenting and child development
– Concrete support in times of need
– Social and emotional competence of children

The presenter, Mary Ellen Peterson, is a mother of two adult sons with special needs. Her oldest son, Joe has Cerebral Palsy and intellectual disabilities and Michael has Learning Differences. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University with a Master’s degree in Special Education and worked at PHP both as a volunteer and staff for over 40 yrs before she retired in July of 2016.

Funded by FIRST 5 Santa Clara County