Safety first
Immediate danger, threats, abuse, coercive control, stalking, crisis, or child-safety concerns go to emergency, crisis, advocacy, medical, or official help first.
FAMILY RESOURCES
Start with one safe next step.
When family stress is high, the goal is not to read everything. Start with safety, routines, trusted supports, school/provider coordination, calmer communication, and private organization; use official/legal doors only when safety, active orders, or deadlines require it.
SUPPORT-FIRST PATH
Use the least escalated safe step first.
FOCaF now routes families through practical supports before official/legal escalation whenever it is safe to do so. Court, filings, and adversarial steps are not the default path; urgent safety issues, abuse or coercive-control concerns, active orders, and real deadlines still require prompt official or qualified professional help.
Stabilize the child’s routine
Protect sleep, school mornings, meals, belongings, transportation, comfort items, and predictable transitions before adding more paperwork.
Use trusted supports
Lean on safe adults, 211/basic-needs routing, counseling, parent coaching, family supports, and practical helpers who reduce chaos without taking sides.
Coordinate school and providers
Give teachers, counselors, doctors, childcare, and coaches short factual updates focused on routines, attendance, appointments, and child support needs.
Communicate calmly
Use adult-to-adult logistics, short messages, pause-before-send habits, and no child-as-messenger boundaries.
Organize your own records
Keep dates, orders, school notes, appointment reminders, receipts, transportation notes, and questions privately for your own use or proper professional channels.
Official/legal doors only when needed
Use official/legal information for real deadlines, court orders, safety protection, legal-aid eligibility, or when qualified help is necessary. FOCaF does not give legal advice.
SUPPORT-FIRST HUBS
New practical pages for private organization and child stability.
Own Records Safety Page
Organize dates, orders, school notes, provider reminders, receipts, transportation notes, and questions privately without sending records to FOCaF.
Open own-records pageSchool + Provider Support Hub
Short factual update scripts, attendance/routine guidance, and school/provider coordination without case-file dumping.
Open support hubRoutines + Transitions Hub
Visual routines, transition backpack checks, decompression plans, and neutral caregiver scripts for two-home days.
Open routines hubIf there is immediate danger
Use emergency, crisis, legal-aid, medical, or official services first when safety or deadlines require it.
FOCaF is a public education site. It does not replace 911, crisis support, legal advice, medical care, safety planning, court forms, or local official help. Keep private details off this site, and do not treat court as the automatic first step.
Open official/legal doorsI am overwhelmed today
Use the short router to choose one branch: safety, paperwork, school/provider help, counseling, calmer messages, handoff help, or helping someone else.
Open start-here routerSchool or provider issue
Use calm update sheets for teachers, counselors, pediatric offices, childcare, coaches, and other support adults.
Open school/provider hubCommunication is tense
Use message templates that keep children out of the middle, separate facts from feelings, and reduce unnecessary conflict.
Open communication toolsChoose by role
Open a tailored path for parents, helpers, providers, professionals, officials, or public reviewers.
Open role pathsBEST FIRST DOWNLOADS
Pick the smallest useful packet.
These printable tools are meant for parents, helpers, and care teams who need calm organization. Use only what helps; you do not need to complete every page.
Parent Quick Start
Safety, papers, school/provider updates, and the next seven days.
DownloadBefore You Call or File
A calm checklist for deadlines, questions, documents, and first calls.
DownloadSchool + Care Team
Update sheets and logs for schools, providers, appointments, and support needs.
DownloadTransition + Handoff
Belongings, medication, comfort items, routines, and neutral handoff notes.
Download19-A Best Interest Planner
Plain-language planning around safety, wellbeing, school, continuity, routines, and support.
DownloadMaine Official Doors
A print-friendly route to crisis, 211, legal aid, court forms, school, and public supports.
DownloadComplete printable library
All current packets are grouped by family need.
The full library includes 97 printable PDFs: start-here packets, planners, school/provider tools, communication tools, Maine resource sheets, RFC/reform review materials, and full research papers.
Open the full download librarySupport before escalation
Look for counseling, school, provider, and official support before conflict grows.
When it is safe, practical support can reduce confusion: counseling calls, school meetings, shared calendars, written routines, provider notes, neutral handoff plans, and clear records.
Download support finderREFORM WITHOUT PRIVATE CASE DETAILS
Help improve the public proposal without sending confidential family information.
FOCaF supports practical family help and public review. If you want to help reform, review the citizen-initiative summary, RFC questions, source materials, and safety boundaries. Do not send child names, allegations, sealed records, medical details, or private court documents.
Review the RFC
Comment on language, safety, due process, implementation, and unclear sections.
Open RFCRead the initiative summary
Understand the reform goals before sharing or commenting.
Open initiativeCheck sources
Review research limits, official sources, and what the site does not claim.
Open sourcesSCHOOL / PROVIDER TOOLKIT
Help children without becoming a custody referee.
Teachers, counselors, pediatricians, childcare providers, coaches, and care teams can use neutral documentation, meeting prep, child-burden reduction, and bounded update templates.
Open school/provider hubNew support-first tools
Counseling, calmer messages, and role-specific next steps
Counseling + family support
Compare family counseling, parent coaching, child counseling, school support, advocacy, crisis routes, and mediation safety caveats.
Open navigatorCalm communication v2
Use short scripts for logistics, school updates, appointments, transportation, and needing time to respond.
Open calm scriptsParent/helper triage
Different paths for parents and helpers that prioritize safety, basic needs, school, routines, own records, and official/legal doors only when needed.
Parent pathHelper pathNew printable companions
Short packets for private family use.
Support-First Quick Packet
Safety first, next 24 hours, next 7 days, school/provider support, calm communication, own records, and official/legal doors only if needed.
Open landing pageTwo-Home Routine Packet
Backpack, bedtime, school-night, transition comfort, and caregiver script pages that keep grown-up problems with grown-ups.
Open landing pageSchool + Provider One-Page Sheets
Teacher update, counselor questions, pediatrician prep, attendance/routine tracker, and support-contact card without case dumping.
Open landing pageNew printable support tools
Use one worksheet before escalation.
Family Support Finder Worksheet
Plan one support call, cost/insurance questions, transportation barriers, and follow-up steps before court unless safety or deadlines require official/legal help.
Open worksheet pageCalm Communication Mini-Pack
Printable neutral scripts, pause-before-send checklist, child-messenger warning, and unsafe-message boundary.
Download mini-pack