In recent years, child welfare programs have focused on engaging families
as partners in order to develop stronger family-centered practice and
improve outcomes for children and families. Developing and
implementing systematic approaches for working in concert with families is
part of the Systems of Care approach adopted by the mental health
system initially and then expanded to other family-serving systems.
Systems of Care (SOC) refers to a coordinated service delivery approach
that relies on community partnerships to develop an integrated approach
for meeting the multiple complex needs of families whose children are at
risk for child abuse and neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2010
Williamson & Gray, 2011).