• Philosophy
  • Our Mission
  • Goals & Objectives
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  • Constructivism
  • Five Protective Factors
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"Challenge is a fact of life. Making adjustments in each life stage, coping with unexpected setbacks, or handling the daily stresses of life can turn a crisis into an opportunity for growth." -- Ben Silliman

Once upon a time, educators and health and human services professionals believed that sorting the population by risk factors was the best way to plan effective and supportive programs.

More recently, we have recognized that difficult circumstances may visit any person or family, placing them at risk of a variety of unfavorable outcomes. Risk factors are mutable and do not define a person (although frequently it feels as though we have been defined by the risk factors ascribed to us!).

The ‘new normal’ approach to program planning is to focus upon protective factors. This body of thought recognizes that when we assist children and families in developing and maintaining protective factors, they will be better able to face difficult circumstances when they arise. Essentially, protective factors are portable.

We love the protective factors approach, because they are strength-based and help us define healthy lifestyles. The Leelanau Children's Center and our Parenting Communities outreach program uses the framework of the Strengthening Families approach, in which the Five Protective Factors serve as a backbone to all our efforts.

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The Five Protective Factors:

1. Social Connections
2. Social Emotional Competence of Children
3. Knowledge of Child Development and Parenting
4. Concrete Supports in Times of Need
5. Parental Resilience

Playgroups, home visits, parenting groups, a newsletter, and community resource connections are among the options available to any Leelanau family with a child under the age of six. We are devoted to helping parents develop and maintain resiliency. We see our job as simply to help parents be the parent they want to be. For more information on the Five Protective Factors approach visit the Strengthening Families website.

The Leelanau Children's Center has been identified as an ‘exemplary program’ in the use of the Five Protective Factors framework to support all families.