Families & Schools Together (FAST) - An Evidence-Based approach to supporting children by empowering families, strengthening protective factors, and building meaningful connections (Live In-Person)

In-person workshop.

Description: Families & Schools Together (FAST) is an Evidence-Based family strengthening program that builds protective factors for children by strengthening connections within and between families, as well as with the school and broader community. With a strong theoretical foundation that incorporates family systems theory, family stress theory, social ecological theory, social capital theory, and more, FAST is built on the idea that children are part of a family, a school, and a broader community, and that any supports provided to a child should work in harmony with those systems.

This workshop will dive into the theoretical foundations of the program, with specific focus on Family Systems Theory, and will provide practitioners with the opportunity to understand the major facets of these theories, recognize the implications of the theories for their own practice, and prioritize how to incorporate strategies and activities utilized in FAST into their work. Workshop facilitators (one in-person, one virtual) will use a trauma-informed lens to guide practitioners in reflecting on and recognizing their own perspectives, values, and potential biases, and how to reframe those to best engage with families in support of children. Workshops are designed to balance time for learning new content, with active discussion and planning time, as well. Participants will leave with tangible approaches they can incorporate into their work.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the workshop, practitioners will be able to:

1. Describe at least 3 theories presented in the workshop and discuss the implications of these theories for their work.
2. Evaluate their own values, perspectives, and biases, and reflect on how they can reframe these to best serve their clients and families.
3. Identify new strategies to implement in their work with children and their families and prepare a plan for how to enact these new strategies.

Research:

Multiple Randomized Controlled Trials have demonstrated FAST’s effectiveness, and studies have shown FAST to engage socially marginalized families with schools, build connections family to family, improve children’s resilience and self-esteem, and support healthy social emotional development. The FAST program has been successfully replicated across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups in urban and rural settings worldwide (over 20 countries) and has earned inclusion on numerous Evidence-Based lists as an effective intervention for child abuse and neglect prevention, child mental health promotion, substance abuse prevention, crime solutions, health promotion, school safety, and school dropout prevention. Read more on our website: https://www.familiesandschools.org/evidence/ And hear testimonials from some of our partners on our blog: https://www.familiesandschools.org/blog/

Target Audience: social workers, mental health practitioners, creative arts therapists, marriage and facility therapists, psychologists, addiction professionals, case managers, and other interested individuals.

Copyright: All material of this training is copyrighted by Families and Schools Together (FAST). For any use of the training material please contact Molly McGowan at mmcgowan@familiesandschools.org.

We are happy to respond to any concerns or questions you may have. Please contact us at by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

ADA Accommodations: If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

Registration open until: 8/18/25