Adopted Policy and Program Recommendations

The Family Policy Council has recommended many policy and program recommendations that have greatly influenced the City’s ability to equitably and meaningfully serve Cambridge children, youth, and families.

Family Policy Council recommendations shaped the following:

• Cambridge Resources Ecosystem Map, which highlights the vast array of programs and resources in Cambridge that are dedicated to supporting children, teens and families, and the companion Navigating Cambridge Resources Training, which helps staff and providers navigate the map.
• Language Justice Initiative, a citywide framework developed to uphold the right for community members to understand and be understood in the language in which they are most comfortable. This includes best practices for writing, translation services, interpretation, and more.
• Math Matters for Equity, a citywide effort to build a culture where math matters for everyone. Mathematical literacy is as important as reading and writing.
• Find It Cambridge, a one-stop-shop website for Cambridge residents and providers to easily find the activities, services, and resources they need.
• Community Engagement Team Making Connections training, an in-person outreach and engagement training program for the Cambridge community.
• City-wide Family Engagement Policy, which outlines how to reduce barriers and create the necessary conditions to engage all families.
• The Inclusion Initiative, which works with parents, caregivers and City staff to support children with disabilities enrolled in the Department of Human Service Programs' (DHSP) Out-of-School Time (OST) programs and ensure that all children enrolled in DHSP programs receive the support needed to actively and safely participate.
• Agenda for Children Literacy Initiative is an early literacy program initiative supporting moms, dads and caregivers of young children ages birth to 8 years.
• Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time, which convenes and supports the youth-serving Out-of-School Time (OST) community in Cambridge through professional development opportunities.
• The Center for Families (CFF), based out of DHSP, serves Cambridge families with children ages birth to 8 years. CFF provides universal strength-based parenting education, early childhood development programming, case management, Cambridge Dads programming, and access to information, resources, and support.