The Power of Service-Advocacy Organizations Working with Families
Report Publish Date: September 1, 2025
This report is the culmination of a two-year research project that aims to shift mindsets and narratives around family-serving organizations’ (FSOs) expertise and role in policy and systems change work.
A key finding of the exploratory research is that, despite many FSOs’ intentions and efforts to contribute to systems and policy change, many FSOs may be tokenized and may not be considered as legitimate and full partners in the advocacy space.
The purpose of this research is to help shift the mindsets of both funders and government officials around FSOs’ expertise and role in policy and systems change work. What conditions could enable FSOs, such as LIFT, CASH Campaign of Maryland, and the Martha O’Bryan Center, to be bigger players in the systems change ecosystem? The research contributes to that aim by surfacing stories of success and factors that enable and constrain FSOs to be successful in policy and systems change work, as well as make recommendations for how funders and systems change leaders can better support FSOs engagement in the ecosystem.
This research is based on the assumption that FSOs are well-placed to advocate for systems and policy change that better meets the needs of and represents the lived experience of families given their direct connections through their services and programming. In addition to a literature review, the research team conducted and analyzed interviews with 15 FSOs and five systems change leaders, then they developed a set of questions (instead of recommendations) to spark critical reflection among funders and other systems change leaders so that they can better share power with FSOs and the families they work with in the systems and policy change ecosystem.
“What we've discovered is that when you build the right relationship between a policy advocacy group and an organizing-service group, they can have a symbiosis that makes each stronger than they would be separately.”
—Interview with systems change leader
“To continue to serve families without engaging in systems and policy change work would feel like running in a hamster wheel.”
—Interview with FSO leader
Further understanding parents’ and families’ experiences with engaging in the systems and policy change ecosystem will give us a better view of their contributions and impact, as well as what supports they need to be included. Understanding the broader dynamics at play in the systems and policy change ecosystem that tokenize and/or exclude FSOs and the families they work with will help systems change leaders be less exclusionary and will ensure that the ecosystem is welcoming and supportive of FSOs and their families.
This study and report was conducted and created by the following people.
