Making an Impact:

Representing the Family Voice on Committees and

Advisory Councils

What is the goal of strong family voices?

• Shared leadershipShared leadership• Families driving the Families driving the

system, not just system, not just commenting on itcommenting on it

• Family experiences Family experiences shaping the system shaping the system from the ground up, from the ground up, not at the edgesnot at the edges

• Other reasons?Other reasons?

The Parents’ Voice!

• Advisory Committees• Task Forces• Councils

Value of partnership• Think of a time when you

had a successful partnership to accomplish your goals…• What did you bring to

the partnership?– What did your partner

bring?– How did you know it

was working?– What were/are the

benefits of working with someone as opposed to working on your own?

Why have committees/councils?

• Provide specialized expertise that may be missing from staff

• Serve as ambassadors, building bridges into the community

• Survey the need for enhancing existing activities

• Bring in resources• Conduct evaluation

and oversight activities

Functions of Councils

• Help maintain accountability or meet demands of external constituents

• Bring in outside support and expertise, linking the program to everything from grassroots community concerns to celebrities and potential funders

Ground Rules for Participation

• Focus on learning with and from each other

• Be open in sharing with peers without fear of judgment

• Stay curious; then move towards solutions

• Identify yourself each time before speaking

• Wait for speaker to finish before you speak

Token vs. Meaningful Participation

• No preparation or information given prior to participation

• No meaningful role in meeting or forum

• Often one time only participation

• Professionals talk “around you” using acronyms and terminology unfamiliar to you

• Adequate notice of the meeting and material supports are provided to assist with your attendance

• Materials and/or an orientation is provided prior to the meeting

• Your input is valued and individuals work with you to clarify terminology, systems and policies that you may be unfamiliar with

• Follow-up is provided

Common Pitfalls

• Lack of clarity of purpose, role or scope

• Lack of awareness of overall mission

• Unclear expectations of individual members

• Lack of leadership, support from key staff

• Improper or inappropriate composition

Common Pitfalls

• Haphazard recruitment process

• Lack of clarity, interaction with the governing or appointing authority

• Underutilizing of individual members

• Advisory Council overstepping its role

• Absence of orientation, continuing education

• Others?

Roles

• Program creation & planning

• Development of program policy

• Planning & implementing public relations

• Funding leadership

• Subcommittees

Other Roles

• Helping to write & review materials

• Helping develop a strategic plan

• Assessing organizational performance

• Organizing special activities

• Identifying needs & needed services

• Cultural guides/brokers

Am I ready to serve?

• Am I able to set aside the needs of my own child and look at the “big picture”?

• Would my feelings (such as anger or anxiety or sadness) make me less effective than I’d want to be?

• Can I set aside my own

emotional issues?

Am I ready to serve?

• Is it a good use of my skills and time?

• What talents or strengths could I bring to this group?

• Can I commit the necessary time?

• Could my participation make a difference for children

and families?

Becoming an effective participant

• Ask yourself if you feel welcome there. If not, what can you do to improve the situation?

• Be willing to listen at first. Learn about the people, the

issues, programs, and background information before offering advice or opinions.

Becoming an effective participant

Be willing to say, “I don’t know yet” or “I need more information to comment on that issue.”

• Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. If acronyms are used, ask if there is a list of acronyms and

definitions. • Ask where you can find

information covered at a previous meeting.

Becoming an effective participant

• Learn all you can about your agency/institution’s structure, policy, and administration.

• Do your homework. Read materials provided to

participants.• Come prepared to

contribute.• Develop an

understanding of the “big picture” issues

facing the agency/ institution, beyond those of your own child and

family.

Opportunities to Learn

• Helps keep Advisory Board/Committee members active & motivated

• Improves the quality of their contributions

• Gives them additional skills that can benefit them in other areas of their lives

“Rules for Governance”

• How will the Advisory board/committee govern itself?

• Will there be officers? Committee chairs?• How will decisions be reached? Consensus?

Vote?• What to do if there are conflicts of interest?• How active must one be to remain on the

Advisory Board/committee?

“Rules for Governance”

• Application form?• Who sets the agenda? How do new items get

added?• When & how are meeting notices & minutes

sent out?• What is the impact of an Advisory Board/

committee decision?

Common Ground Rules

• Encourage the group to look at its mission statement (if one exists) and answer these questions: – Does it provide

direction for the group?

– Is it clear? – Is there a need to

write or rewrite a mission statement?

Common Ground Rules

• Help clarify expectations. Do members expect only to give advice, or do some also expect the advice to be followed? How do members feel about this? Do expectations need to be examined or made clearer?

• Be sure members treat each other respectfully. Do parents listen to each other’s unique perception and experience?

Common Ground Rules

• Be sure that meetings are run in a timely, organized way.

• Making and following an agenda is effective.

• Support productive decision making. Are conclusions reached by consensus, or do discussions continue with no resolution or closure?

Common Ground Rules

• One person at a time

• Listen to others• No mocking or

attacking• Be on time• Respect each

other

Shared leadership is important because:

• Multiple perspectives & diverse strengths and talents are combined to achieve goals

• Families know how systems really work “on the ground”

We learn leadership in many ways

• Learn from others who serve as role models

• Learn from formal training

• “Just do it”

Practices of Exemplary Leadership

I. Challenging the processII. Inspiring a shared visionIII. Enabling others to actIV. Modeling the WayV. Encouraging the heart

How have you demonstrated exemplary leadership?

Your Leadership Roles

What committees, advisory groups, or boards do you participate on?

How have you already been working to improve systems for children and families?

Telling the real deal

• Based on your personal experience with child & family-serving systems (education, health, mental health, child welfare)• What’s working?• What’s not working?• How do the systems

intersect well?• How do they break

down?• What one thing

could make it better?

What can you do?• Individual family capacity-building– Promoting community education– Educating providers– Fostering coalitions & networks– Changing organizational practices– Influencing policy & legislation

You as a leader in family strengthening

• What are your strengths?  What is the one thing you can most contribute as a leader in family strengthening?

– Think about your communication skills, your ability to develop team spirit, to bring people together, your ability to problem solve, to see new solutions, your capacity to inspire others. 

• What will you do next week?

THANK YOU!