Family Advocacy and Mentoring Network
Welcome to FAM-Net!
The Family Advocacy and Mentoring Network (FAM-Net) is an integrated approach to empowering parents/caregivers and community members, and connecting them to opportunities to advocate for their families and communities. Many are looking for more effective ways to address the challenges facing their families and communities, and are seeking ways to have a stronger voice. And many organizations and public agencies are looking to include parent/community voices in their work and decision-making. FAM-Net is intended to facilitate these connections.
FAM-Net consists of four programs which work interactively to provide opportunities for becoming more involved in creating positive impacts your children, families and community.
Learning Center
Training and capacity building is pursued through three main mechanisms, each taking a different approach to meet the individual needs of participants.
Organizational Collaborations
A key element of FAM-Net is connectivity to organizations and venues seeking parent voices, and identification of where parent voices can be integrated in a productive manner.
Community Connections
Effective outreach is crucial to both identifying and engaging prospective participants, as well as providing participants with ongoing support.
Civic Engagement
Opportunities to address broader community issues which impact the lives of their children and families, beyond those immediately associated with parenting.
Whether an individual or an organization, you are invited to explore the FAM-Net program and get involved. Building nurturing, healthy, more resilient families and communities requires each of us to be engaged.
If you are a parent/caregiver or other community member, please join the participant roster. This opens the door to the learning center and the various ways FAM-Net can connect you to policy makers, family services organizations, mentors and other parents and community members who share similar interests in supporting their family and community.
If you are an organization seeking to incorporate parent and community involvement into your work and/or policy making, register your organization and become part of the FAM-Net Organizational Hub – a roster of organizations looking to engage parents and community members.
FAM-Net has been developed by Lead4Tomorrow (L4T) with primary funding from the California Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), and additional support from First 5 Sacramento and Health Net. Each organization is committed to improving opportunities for parent advocacy.
Virtual / In-person Workshops
Provide capacity building in a short-form workshop format.
Online Training
In-depth advocacy training program designed for those with time or resource constraints.
Local Leadership Academies
A comprehensive approach to parent leadership building and networking.
Advocacy Opportunities
A listing of ways parents can become involved and engaged in advocating for their children, families and communities.
Organizational Support / Capacity Building
Assisting organizations in seeking support from parents and other community-based leaders.
Organizational Hub
A listing of known organizations and agencies interested in involving parents in advocacy opportunities.
Peer Support
Providing ongoing opportunities for parent leaders to learn from one another.
Texts/Messaging
Making participants aware of new opportunities, sharing inspirational stories, and sharing capacity-building tips from staff and peers.
Surveys
A means of continuous improvement in systems, materials, capacity building, connectivity to opportunities, and other elements of FAM-Net.
Policy Links
Sharing opportunities to connect parents to venues addressing broader policies which impact their families and communities.
Mentoring Conferences
Creating opportunities for sharing parent voices and experiences from the range of experiences they encounter advocating for their children and families.
Community Visioning & Action
Providing an opportunity for parents and grassroots community leaders to lay out their vision for their community as a potential driver of future policies and resource management.
We hope you will explore FAM-Net and be part of this ‘crowd-sourced’ resource to help nurture your family and strengthen your community.
FAM-Net recognizes and builds upon the contributions and sacrifices of the diverse races and cultures which comprise our society, and which have helped shape and challenge our society to be its best.