Invitation Child & Family Well-Being Webinar Series: Strengthening Families through Positive Social Connections

The Office of Child and Family Services and the Maine Children’s Trust are pleased to announce the next webinar in our Child & Family Well-Being Webinar Series (formerly known as the Prevention Webinar Series) to continue the conversation about how we can all build supportive communities and keep children safe by keeping families strong. This webinar follows a series of recorded webinars held over the past several years where strategies have been shared for what everyone can do to strengthen and support families as a means to prevent child abuse and neglect and other adverse conditions. 

When: Tuesday, February 3, 2026: from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. via Zoom Topic:  Strengthening Families through Positive Social Connections

Overview: Maine’s Child Safety and Family Well-Being Plan is rooted in the guiding principle that "We can keep children safe by keeping families strong," Everyone – from state agencies and community organizations to neighbors, friends, and professionals, can support families in some fashion and by supporting families earlier, we can create the conditions for strong families.  Reducing risk factors while increasing protective factors is one of many strategies that can foster family strengthening.  Protective factors are the positive conditions in individuals, families, and communities that decrease the likelihood of adverse conditions and include: nurturing and attachment, knowledge of parenting and child and youth development, parental resilience, social connections, concrete supports, and social and emotional competence of children.  

In this webinar, there will be a specific focus on the definition and importance of social connections as a protective factor in strengthening families as well as an opportunity to learn and share about the many strategies we can all employ to assist families in building social connections.    

Participants will: 

• Learn more about the science of social connection as a protective factor.
• Understand how social connection can be developed and the role that we all have in that development.
• Learn about how various programs and providers in Maine implement strategies that support the growth of social connection.

 In order to participate or receive the webinar recording and resources, please register here by Friday, January 30, 2026.  Please mark your calendars as a meeting invitation and link to the webinar will be sent to you the day prior to the scheduled webinar.

Thank you for partnering with the Office of Child and Family Services and the Maine Children’s Trust to ensure all Maine children and families can be safe, stable, happy, and healthy!

Christine Theriault, LMSW, PS-C
Family First Prevention Services Program Manager
Office of Child and Family Services