RDQ 9 Enhancing Family Engagement in PBIS Discussion Leaders: Andy Garbacz, University of Wisconsin-Madison Mark Weist, University of South Carolina

Enhancing Family Engagement in PBIS RDQ 9 Enhancing Family Engagement in PBIS Family & youth engagement in typically initiated by schools with the goal to engage families & youth as partners. Families, youth, & school faculty engage together at Tier I, II, & III to co-identify priorities, co-create plans, carry-out their shared plans within & across settings, & share in decision-making & evaluation in alignment with the functional properties & core features of specific programs. In addition, interactions between families, youth & school Faculty are proactive & multi-directional. As interactions evolve, partners are responsive to changes & adapt accordingly. Guiding questions: What family & youth activities are you engaging in? What are your priorities for family & youth engagement? What barriers have you encountered? What strategies have you found for addressing barriers? What is needed to enhance family engagement in PBIS? What state, regional or national resources have you found useful to advance your family & youth engagement program?

An Electronic-Book on family & youth engagement was recently released & is available for download from http://www.pbis.org The E-Book provides a conceptual foundation for family engagement & provides practical ideas for how family engagement priorities can be operationaliozed and implemented in schools using PBIS or MTSS. Concepts & strategies are described at each school level & across the developmental spectrum. A key focus is on how family engagement can be aligned & integrated within existing systems towards greater efficiencies & positive outcomes for children, families & schools Aligning and Integrating Family Engagement in Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS): Concepts & Strategies for Families in Key Contexts

Community for Family Engagement in Education The inaugural meeting for the Community for Family Engagement in Education (COFEE) was recently held in Madison Wisconsin. The vision for COFEE is to… “Promote family & youth engaged partnerships in research, practice & policy to improve prevention & intervention in the systems & practices of school-wide positive behavioral interventions & supports & related multi tiered systems of support toward improvement in valued outcomes for children & adolescents. We have several exciting next steps for the COFEE, which include refining a framework for family & youth engagement, creating tools & measures, building implementation blueprints, creating scoped & sequenced plans to efficiently embed family engagement within school systems & practices, & conducting demonstrations. We are also developing connections with statewide organizations, family associations, schools& legislators. If you have interest in COFEE, please contact us. Community for Family Engagement in Education