title: Fostering solutions: bringing brief-therapy principles and practices to the child welfare system.
abstract: This article describes a 15-month university-community collaboration that was designed to fast-track children out of foster care. The developers of the project initiated resource-oriented "systems facilitations," allowing wraparound professionals and families to come together in large meetings to solve problems and find solutions. Families also participated in strength-based brief-therapy sessions. The authors describe the history, structure, and process of the project, and they provide a case study to illustrate the approach and exemplify the kinds of changes that occurred throughout the system. In the final section of the article, the authors reflect on what they learned about their university-community partnership, what they would do differently the next time, and the implications of such larger-system involvements for American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy's Core Competencies.
authors.affiliation: Nova Southeastern University, Student Counseling, ParkerBldg., Suite 150, 3301 College Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314, USA. douglas@nsu.nova.edu
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flemons
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liscio
authors.forename: Arlene Brett
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hibel
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutierrez-Hersh
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Rebholz
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000458:organization & administration; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States