Winston Salem, North Carolina– Smart Start of Forsyth County has been named a North Carolina Family Resource Center (NC FRC) Network Member by Positive Childhood Alliance NC. Launched in March 2023, the North Carolina Family Resource Center Network is a statewide chapter of the National Family Support Network that seeks to connect Family Resource Centers from across North Carolina to both increase investments and promote best practices in family support services through advocacy and collaboration.
The NC FRC Network is committed to improving child and family well-being in communities across the state. To date, the network has engaged with more than 30 Family Resource Centers across North Carolina. Members of the NC FRC Network support the vision that all North Carolina families have equitable access to strengths-based resources through a network of community-based FRCs and, as a result, communities are stronger, healthier and more nurturing environments where children and their families thrive. To achieve membership, an agency must be committed to the following activities:
• Engagement in an NC FRC Network Committee or Workgroup.
• Engage in training and certification in the nationally adopted Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support.
• Attend peer-to-peer meetings
• Participate in responsive Technical Assistance from Positive Childhood Alliance NC experts in childcare
“I am passionate to witness how this new network will positively impact individuals, families, and communities. After managing an FRC in the Southside of High Point for several years, before joining the PCANC Team, I was so honored to witness the positive impact that an FRC can have on a community. Through this experience, the Southside Community also positively impacted the North Carolina Family Resource Center in Forsyth County The Family Resource Center impacted my life forever.
“The NC FRC Network will help promote protective factors in FRC Staff, Community Members, and future generations!” said Andrea Clark, Prevention Networks Manager at Positive Childhood Alliance NC. The National Family Support Network states that Family Resource Center Networks “serve as the backbone entity to leverage and coordinate the collective impact of their members. They create opportunities for service providers to meet formally and informally, exchange information, make connections, develop relationships, build capacity, and address challenges that no one organization could on its own.” Family Resource Centers have the opportunity to increase protective factors against child abuse and neglect and membership in the NC FRC Network is working to make this goal achievable.
For more information about the NC FRC Network, visit www.positivechildhoodalliancenc.org/NCFRCNetwork
