Strengthening Systems for North Carolina Children

Strengthening Systems for North Carolina Children (SYNC) is a no-cost training opportunity for new or existing community coalitions in North Carolina who are interested in using systems thinking for cross-system, coordinated, long-term Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) prevention work. Communities in North Carolina disproportionately affected by ACEs receive guidance and technical assistance from subject matter experts in using systems thinking to identify ways to 1) strengthen systems that support ACEs-related protective factors and 2) disrupt systems that contribute to ACEs-related risk factors.

Through interactive workshops, community teams of 10 to 25 learn how to use a tool called causal loop diagramming (CLD) to create a tailored diagram of the systems that influence ACEs-related shared risk and protective factors (SRPFs) in their community. They use the diagram to identify key points of high leverage that the community can target to mitigate ACEs. After completion of these workshops, teams receive one year of ongoing technical assistance to implement and refine the CLD.

Are you interested in learning more about the SYNC project?
Watch this video for an in-depth overview of the project, including insights into the community team structure, activities included in the training curriculum, the process for developing CLDs, and more!