ECHO: Complex Care using the FAIR Model

Course Overview

In today’s complex landscape, child- and family-serving systems are increasingly committed to creating environments where children, youth and families can overcome systemic inequities and thrive. The FAIR Framework—Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation—offers a practical, outcomes-driven approach to help agencies move beyond performative actions toward measurable change.

This series is designed for professionals working in child welfare, behavioral health and adjacent fields. Through interactive discussion, real-world examples and reflection, participants will explore how to build more responsive systems that honor lived experience, remove structural barriers and strengthen trust with the communities they serve.

The series includes four sessions:

Session 1: Reframing the Work: Introduction to the FAIR Framework

We'll examine why some past equity efforts have faced challenges and how the FAIR Framework can guide organizations toward more sustainable, systems-focused outcomes. Participants will explore each principal of the FAIR Framework and how they intersect in the context of child and family services. 

Session 2: Fairness: Creating Connections for Success and Safety

This session explores how to ensure policies, practices and decision-making structures are transparent, consistent and rooted in fairness. We'll discuss strategies to reduce disparities in service access, treatment and outcomes, particularly for historically excluded youth and families.

Session 3: Access: Removing Barriers and Designing for Engagement

Access goes beyond referrals or service availability, it requires intentional design to meet families where they are. This session offers strategies for addressing logistical, cultural and systemic barriers that prevent full participation in behavioral health and child welfare systems. 

Session 4: Inclusion & Representation: Centering Voice, Accountability, and Belonging

What does it mean to move from inviting voices to actively sharing power? This session focuses on building authentic relationships with youth, caregivers and community partners. We'll explore how inclusion and representation, when paired with accountability, can drive meaningful change.