Community Voice Spotlight:
Communities of Practice

As of April 2025, Strategies TA hosts and facilitates two Communities of Practice to better support the family strengthening field. The First 5 Community of Practice is facilitated by Lisa Morrell and provides a private space for First 5 Leadership to support one another. The CA NFSN Standards Community of Practice is a newer CoP partnership between Strategies TA and CFRA, facilitated by Aleena Mendoza.

The First 5 Community of Practice initiated in May 2024 and was created as a designated space for Strategies TA to provide technical assistance and an opportunity for peer learning for First 5 organizations, specifically those with associated FRCs. Over time, the purpose of the CoP has shifted to allow opportunities for peer sharing among First 5s, which can be isolated from one another and face unique challenges. The discussions are kept private, with minimal Strategies TA staff present so the participants can speak freely and openly about their successes and challenges. The First 5 Community of Practice has been the catalyst for many individual technical assistance projects involving First 5s across the state. Due to Lisa’s leadership, Strategies TA is providing assistance to 11 First 5 organizations.

The CA NFSN Standards Community of Practice first gathered in February 2025 and has quickly become a valuable resource for many. The CoP is limited to 36 participants per session and regularly fills up before the registration deadline. Community of Practice participants are recruited through the National Family Support Network Standards of Quality training held by CFRA, and the CoP is an opportunity for training participants to go beyond what they learned in the 2-day training and dive deep into implementation. Each session focuses on a different aspect or section of the Standards training and all have spurred important discussions around the Standards, the needs of FRCs, and opportunities to improve organizations to help families across the state. The sessions are paced according to the needs of participants and are already developing further requests for individual technical assistance.