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August/September 2002Vol. 3, No. 7Developing a Parent Leadership Team as an Innovative Parent Leadership Strategy

In July 2001, Parents Anonymous® Inc. and the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention launched the first-ever California Parent Leadership Team (CPLT), thereby creating a statewide structure to develop leadership roles for parents throughout California. The CPLT will enhance meaningful parent and provider partnerships by bringing their voices and experiences in family-strengthening programs to the discussions, activities, and decisions related to family support services in California. The CPLT is composed of 15 diverse mothers and fathers who were nominated from community-based, family-strengthening programs all across California and reflect the wide variety of families who utilize family support services. The CPLT works in partnership with Parents Anonymous staff to provide training and technical assistance to administrators, staff, and parents in family support programs throughout the State. CPLT members also participate in policy and planning activities locally and statewide, develop parent leadership materials and serve as mentors and role models to other parents interested in developing their leadership skills and involvement in parent leadership activities.

Parents Anonymous and the California Department of Social Services, nationally recognized for their commitment to shared leadership, developed innovative strategies to ensure meaningful parent leadership within the State. The addition of a statewide California Parent Leadership Team will serve as a replicable model for county and statewide family service systems throughout the country. With support and training, parents can become active partners and advocates in promoting policies and programs that help families to enhance the development of their children, prevent child abuse, and create supportive communities.

For more information about this innovative project or to discuss developing parent leadership teams, contact:

Meryl Levine, MSSA
Vice President of Development
Parents Anonymous® Inc.
675 W. Foothill Blvd., Suite 220
Claremont, CA 91711
Phone: 909-621-6184
Email: mlevine@parentsanonymous.org