Collaborative Family Engagement
CFE is a team-based approach between local CASA programs and CPS, as well as Single Source Continuum Contractors (SSCC), to engage, find and work with family members and fictive kin in the creation and development of a lifetime network for young people in the foster care system.
Featured Content
What is CFE?
Collaborative Family Engagement is Texas’ approach to connect and engage families. This work aims to strengthen collaboration, model a team-based approach, enhance CASA advocacy and child protection case practice, increase child and family voice in planning and decision making, and increase the connectedness of children while in foster care, and after. Learn more by watching the provided video.
Resources
CFE Implementation
Embedding CFE Assessment
In the interest of understanding which local CASA programs have embedded the practice of Collaborative Family…
CFE Fidelity Index
The CFE Fidelity Index outlines the implementation timeline for local CASA programs and CPS for each…
Early CFE: Within the First 14 Days
About Early CFE ECFE is Collaborative Family Engagement done within the first 14 days before the…
CFE Manual
The Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE): Creating & Strengthening Lasting Connections Manual (last updated September 2023) provides…
The 4Cs of CFE Card
The 4 C’s card is another tool to help you easily reference the main components of…
CFE Value Cards
The CFE Value Card lists out the 10 Core Values and five Core Concepts for your…
CFE Evaluations
Texas CASA contracted with Dr. Cynthia Osborne and the Child and Family Research Partnership (CFRP) at…
CFE Sustainability Pathway
The CFE Sustainability Pathway outlines the implementation timeline for local CASA programs and CPS as they…
CFE Pocket Guide
The CFE Pocket Guide provides you information on some of the tools used in CFE that…
Volunteer Guide for Advocacy for Children 0-5
0-5 Program Guide This guide has everything you, as a leader of a local CASA program…
CFE Tracking in Optima
Using Optima, programs can now track CFE related activities following the 4 C’s: Collaborate, Cultivate, Convene…
Introduction to CFE
CFE is an innovative Family Finding partnership between CASA and Child Protective Services (CPS). CFE uses…
Collaborate
CFE Team Meeting Notes
The CFE Team Meeting Notes can be used as a template for a CFE Team Meeting,…
CFE Postcard for Parents
This two-sided postcard for parents helps explain the crucial role parents play in the CFE process…
Cultivate
Family Searching and Engagement Tools
Three Houses Tool Tree of Life Circles of Trust Tool How to Make a Mobility Map
Genogram Software
The easy-to-use software GenoPro is still available for download and use by CASA program staff, volunteers,…
Mexican Consulate MOU
In 2016, Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Consulates of Mexico…
CFE Mobility Map
A mobility map is a visual timeline of a person’s life created by having them draw…
Infant and Toddler Advocacy Webinar Series with Child Advocates of Fort Bend County
Texas CASA has partnered with Child Advocates of Fort Bend (CAFB) to share their work and…
Convene
Family Meetings Facilitator Video Series
Video 1: The Why of Family Meetings Video 2: Integrating CFE Elements Video 3: Planning &…
Family Meetings: Best Practices & Principles
Family meetings are the heart of the CFE work, and are believed to be an opportunity…
Meaningful Family Meetings: A CFE Facilitator’s Guide
This guide discusses the philosophy behind family meetings and how they are structured (and in which…
Collaborative Family Engagement E-Learning
Welcome to the Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) course, which is the pre-requisite for the follow up…
Connect
Advocating for Older Youth in Foster Care
In 2022, there were 5,600 youth aged 14-17 in foster care in Texas, facing difficult questions…
Connect Our Kids/Family Connections Tool Training
Connect Our Kids/Family Connections tool is available for CASA staff and volunteers and other child welfare…
Trainings
Encouraging Youth to Engage in Connection Tools
Are you advocating for an older youth in foster care who seems reluctant to utilize the…
CFE Tools App
Providing an engaging way for tools to be completed while meeting people where they are at…
0-5 Program Guide
Introduction This guide has everything you, as a leader of a local CASA program in Texas,…
CFE Team Meeting Notes
The CFE Team Meeting Notes can be used as a template for a CFE Team Meeting,…
CFE Fidelity Index
The CFE Fidelity Index outlines the implementation timeline for local CASA programs and CPS for each…
Advocating for Older Youth in Foster Care
In 2022, there were 5,600 youth aged 14-17 in foster care in Texas, facing difficult questions…
Videos
CFE Mobility Map
A mobility map is a visual timeline of a person’s life created by having them draw…
Family Meetings Facilitator Video Series
Video 1: The Why of Family Meetings Video 2: Integrating CFE Elements Video 3: Planning &…
CFE Tracking in Optima
Using Optima, programs can now track CFE related activities following the 4 C’s: Collaborate, Cultivate, Convene…
Family Searching and Engagement Tools
Three Houses Tool Tree of Life Circles of Trust Tool How to Make a Mobility Map
