This toolkit is designed to help NICU staff and families create successful family advisory councils (FACs) in their units, whether starting from scratch or working to enhance an existing council. Drawing from both research and lived experience, this resource bridges theory and practice in family engagement.

This guide is both a resource and a message from families who have supported their infants through neonatal intensive care. Our goal is to offer a comprehensive toolkit to support neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staff and families in establishing and maintaining a family advisory council.

Support for the CPQCC California NICU Family Advisory Council (FAC) and this toolkit was provided by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.

The tools shared on this page were developed by individual CPQCC member hospitals, either during their participation in a CPQCC QI collaborative or for their own internal QI purposes. We understand that every hospital works with a different set of resources and constraints. As such, some of the tools presented in this toolkit may not directly apply to your hospital setting. The tools and guidelines presented here should be adapted to fit your local needs.

NICU FAC Toolkit Pilot Program: Get Hands-On Support Establishing Your FAC

The CPQCC NICU FAC Toolkit Pilot Program provides six months of personalized implementation support to help California NICUs advance their family engagement goals. Participating hospitals receive guidance from CPQCC and California NICU FAC members, wherever they are in their FAC journey.

About the Program
  • Customized implementation guidance and resources
  • Monthly consultation with CPQCC Family Engagement Coordinator
  • Peer support from experienced CPQCC California NICU FAC members
  • In-person site visit to your hospital
Goal CPQCC and California NICU FAC members to collaborate with your team to move forward in establishing or strengthening structured family engagement in your NICU
Time June-December 2026

Please email info@cpqcc.org if you are interested in participating or would like to learn more about the program.

Listen to members of CPQCC's California NICU Family Advisory Council share their experiences with communication, highlighting what helped, what didn’t, and how connection shaped their NICU journeys in, "Voices That Heal, for Communication and Connection in the NICU":

PDF icon CPQCC NICU FAC Toolkit (2025)
Resource Category: 
QI Toolkits
Date: 
December 2025