Family Resource Centers
Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are a type of Family Support program. They are known by many different names, including Family Centers, Family Success Centers, Family Support Centers, and Parent Child Centers.
A Family Resource Center is a community or school-based welcoming hub of support, services, and opportunities for families – that
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Utilizes an approach that is multi-generational, strengths-based, and family-centered
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Reflects, and is responsive to, community needs and interests;
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Provides support at no or low cost for participants; and
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Builds communities of peer support for families to develop social connections that reduce isolation and stress.
Family Resource Center Overviews
Research on Family Resource Centers
A growing body of research and evaluation highlights the effectiveness of Family Resource Centers. Click on the titles to access the reports.
This report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies utilizes a robust evaluation methodology and administrative education data covering 15 cohorts of children to measure the impact of access to Sure Start Centres in England.
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Key findings include:
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Access to a Sure Start Centre for families with children 0 to 5 years old significantly improved the educational achievement of children, with benefits lasting at least until age 16.
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Positive effects were six times higher for children in families with the lowest incomes.
With the support of Casey Family Programs, the OMNI Institute conducted research and issued two reports on cost savings FRCs yield for rural and urban child welfare systems by reducing families' involvement in them.
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The key findings are:
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Since Teller County, Colorado moved to a differential response model in 2016 that utilizes a Family Resource Center, its child abuse rate has had a 63% reduction.
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After a formal partnership between Community Partnership FRC and Teller County child welfare was established, the county saved an estimated $2.5M associated with reductions in child welfare cases. For every $1 invested in Community Partnership FRC, the Teller County child welfare system saved an estimated $2.92 .
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In 2017, reductions in child maltreatment cases in Westminster FRC's Orange County community saved the child welfare system an estimated $1.82M; in 2016 this savings was estimated at $1.1M. For every $1 invested in Westminster FRC in 2016 and 2017, the Orange County child welfare system saved an estimated $3.65.
This Net Social Return on Investment research determined that for every $1 invested in Family Resource Centers, the State of Alabama received $4.93 in immediate and long-term consequential financial benefits.
This brief presents data that families who were screened out of child welfare and completed family development activities at Family Resource Centers were less likely to enter the child welfare system than did a matched comparison group of families during a one-year follow-up period: 37.5% less likely to have a founded assessment and 50% less likely to have out of home placements.
This Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago analysis of Family Support Centers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania determined that neighborhoods with centers had a 26% lower rate of child abuse and neglect investigations than similar neighborhoods without them.
This study of New York City's Family Enrichment Centers conducted by Youth Studies Inc. documents their impact on serving local families.
Family Pathways & CFSA 2.0 Evaluation Report – Executive Summary 2020
Family Pathways & CFSA 2.0 Evaluation Report – Executive Summary 2019
These evaluation reports from Colorado show that families who participated in Family Resource Centers demonstrated statistically significant improvements in economic self sufficiency, health, concrete support in times of need, social support, family functioning and resiliency, and caregiver-child nurturing and attachment.