Stronger Families, Stronger Futures (SF2)

The Stronger Families, Stronger Futures (SF2) network connects provider agencies in Hartford, Connecticut, with the aim of promoting the optimal development, learning, and health of young children by creating a coordinated system of support for caregivers.. Network Impact partnered with The Village, the network’s coordinating agency, to assess a first phase of the network’s development in order to inform ongoing network decision making and strategy.

Three phases of interviews with different levels of staff from member organizations painted a picture of early successes, including these key findings: 

• Connections between network members are supporting efficiencies in service delivery and shared capacity

• Formal opportunities to connect are helping network members raise issues and identify solutions

• The network is bridging the gaps that exist in care for families, which leads to more clients getting a more comprehensive range of services and supports

• Customizing and centralizing data collection and reporting allows for the measurement of performance uniformly across the network, while reducing staff time devoted to data entry into multiple databases

• The new network structure is supporting greater alignment across member agencies

The evaluation report included practical recommendations for supporting connectivity, health and results going forward, as well as recommendations for monitoring these core network capacities over time. 

Project engagement: 2021