Parent Partnership Advisory Committees (PPAC) Overview
Source of Image: The Dual Capacity Framework with Dr. Karen Mapp
Target Audience: Peer support group graduates, Peer Facilitators, and Administrators
Parent partnership advisory committees (PPACs) can be a highly effective method of ensuring meaningful client/family engagement, developing leadership skills, and supporting a program’s success. Recognizing that the term family has many definitions and consists of at least one adult and one child who are related biologically, emotionally, and/or legally. Families may consist of one parent, two parents, grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, or they may arise from a need for mutual support.
HWC-OK encourages all human service organizations and coalitions to include PPACs as an essential quality improvement strategy and to incorporate client voice into the strategic plan and budget. To advance equity and diversity, efforts to remove barriers for participation is essential for the greatest impact. Barriers include childcare, family meal, stipend, transportation and trained facilitators. Local partnerships to address these needs further advance interagency coordination and create a culture of safety and trust.
Step 1: to build relational trust, create a PAC Planning Committee and send two staff and two parents to the one-day National Family Support Network’s Parent Advisory Committee Training to learn the basics and/or strengthen an existing one. The training models and reinforces the effectiveness of staff-parent partnerships. (Scroll to the bottom of the NFSN page to see upcoming dates and links to registration).
Step 2: to foster ongoing relational trust and capacity building, send the PAC Planning Committee to the monthly coaching sessions provided by University of Oklahoma PAC Coaching team to learn best practices, share lessons learned, and problem-solve barriers to implementation or sustaining.
Step 3: with the above technical assistance create a PAC agreement, logic model, budget, and timeline to maintain and advance the effectiveness of staff-parent partnership.
For more information on addressing the challenges in staff-parent partnership, please read: The Dual Capacity Framework with Dr. Karen Mapp. Although based in the world of education, other human service organizations can apply this framework to their family engagement approach.