North Carolina’s DSS Prevention Framework in Action
What would it look like if families could get the support they need before challenges become crises?
That question was at the heart of Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina’s August 2026 webinar, Building Positive Childhoods Together: North Carolina’s DSS Prevention Framework in Action.
During the session, Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina (PCANC) and the North Carolina Division of Social Services (NC DSS) explored how our state is working to move prevention further upstream, strengthen support for families in their own communities, and build a more connected family support ecosystem across North Carolina.
The webinar was opened by PCANC’s Shantel Haskins, Membership and Events Coordinator and was presented by Beth Moore, Learning & Development Director and Kris Demers-O’Brien, Director of Communications and Marketing, with special guest Deborah Day, Community Prevention Programs Manager at the North Carolina Division of Social Services, who shared the history behind the DSS Prevention Framework and the vision that guided its development.
What We Explored
A Shared Framework for Prevention
North Carolina’s DSS Prevention Framework provides a shared approach to preventing child maltreatment and supporting child and family well-being across the state.
Developed with input from partners, including Family Partners and the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council, the Framework reflects an important shift in how we think about prevention. Prevention isn’t only about responding to risk or stopping something bad from happening. It’s also about creating the conditions that help children and families be healthy, safe, supported, and connected from the start.
Five principles guide that work:
- Family-centered: Families are partners in identifying their needs, strengths, goals, and the supports that work best for them.
- Equity-focused: Prevention efforts recognize and address barriers that can make it harder for some families and communities to access opportunities and support.
- Trauma-informed: Services and systems prioritize safety, trust, relationships, and practices that avoid causing additional harm.
- Data-driven: Communities use data alongside the knowledge and experiences of families and community members to understand needs, identify strengths and gaps, and guide decisions.
- Collaborative: Families are supported by many people, organizations, and systems. Effective prevention requires partners to work together and create more connected pathways to support.
Together, these principles help us shift the question from “How do we respond when something goes wrong?” to “What can we build around families so they have what they need in the first place?”
Key Takeaways
One of the biggest messages from the conversation was simple: start where you are.
Communities don’t need to implement every strategy in the Framework at once, and they don’t need to start from scratch. Across North Carolina, many communities are already doing work that contributes to a stronger family support ecosystem.
That might look like strengthening a local Family Resource Center so families have a trusted place to find support. It could mean creating better connections among organizations so a parent doesn’t have to call five different places to find what they need. Communities might strengthen family navigation, create more meaningful opportunities for parents and caregivers to shape programs and decisions, or bring local partners together to identify existing resources and gaps.
Each of these efforts contributes to something larger: a family support ecosystem where families are surrounded by connected people, organizations, resources, and policies that make support easier to find and access.
From Conversation to Action
Knowing where we want to go is one thing. Figuring out where to begin can be another.
That’s why PCANC developed the DSS Prevention Framework Companion Implementation Toolkit to help communities and organizations put the Framework into practice.
Rather than prescribing one approach, the Toolkit helps communities consider questions such as:
Where are we now? What is already working? Where are the gaps? Who needs to be part of the conversation? What strategy makes sense to focus on first? What is one next step we can take?
The Toolkit includes practical resources that can be used individually or with community partners to assess current efforts, identify opportunities, and plan next steps.
Whether your community is just beginning this conversation or already has strong family support efforts underway, the goal isn’t to do everything at once. Start where you are, build on what’s already working, and connect the pieces.
Resources
Building stronger support for North Carolina’s children and families isn’t the responsibility of one organization, agency, or sector. We all have a role, and we can start where we are.
- Explore the DSS Prevention Framework and our Companion Implementation Toolkit Dig Deeper
- Watch the webinar recording and access more resources in our digital Resource Library Visit the Resource Library
- Join the Positive Childhood Alliance to access the Resource Library for free! Join the Alliance
- We’re Here to Support You – PCANC is available to help communities and organizations explore the DSS Prevention Framework and strengthen their local family support ecosystems. We can help you understand the Framework, identify a realistic place to begin, bring partners together, work through opportunities or challenges, and use the Companion Toolkit to move from conversation to action. Interested in technical assistance or support for your community? Contact Us