Family Link Icebreakers

(45-60 minute meetings at CFSA)

Icebreaker meetings are opportunities for resource and birth parents to meet each other face-to-face and to connect over their mutual concern for the child's wellbeing. A trained facilitator will be present during the meeting to prompt a parent-to-parent conversation about the child's needs and the many ways in which the adults can work together to ensure that the child's needs are met. Icebreaker participants will have an opportunity to share information about the child, ask questions, and come up with a communication agreement based upon both parties' preferences.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

ALL Family Link icebreakers are now scheduled, coordinated, and facilitated by select groups of CFSA staff. The icebreaker coordinators/facilitators are NOT the case-carrying social workers. Rather, the folks who coordinate and facilitate the icebreaker are people who have been specifically trained in the icebreaker model developed by FAPAC and later adopted by CFSA.

The role of the icebreaker coordinator/ facilitator is to promote and support shared parenting practices that benefit children in care by facilitating an initial parent-to-parent conversation between resource parents and birth parents. The focus of the icebreaker conversation is on the child(ren) in care and how the adults involved can work together to meet the needs of the child(ren). Towards the end of the icebreaker, the facilitator will prompt participants to reflect on their communication preferences and to find a mutually agreeable way for exchanging important information/updates about the child(ren) in care.

Replacement icebreaker meetings are an opportunity for resource and birth parents to meet each other face-to-face when a child is experiencing a placement change. This face-to-face meeting is an effort to establish a working relationship between the new resource parent and the child’s birth parents. The goal is to develop a meaningful connection between birth and resource parents that will support placement stabilization. When birth and resource parents connect, children are more likely to remain in their placement while continuing a healthy connection with their family of origin. During replacement icebreaker meetings, a trained facilitator prompts the discussion around child well-being and establishing a communication agreement between the birth and resource parents.

If you would like additional information about icebreakers, please make sure to reach out to the appropriate team via the email addresses below.

For matters regarding INITIAL ICEBREAKERS (for new cases) please email:[email protected]

For matters regarding REPLACEMENT ICEBREAKERS please email:[email protected]

To PROVIDE FEEDBACK or REQUEST ADDITIONAL SUPPORT, please email:[email protected]