The Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) of Colorado is a program created with families for families. The curriculum equips families with knowledge and skills to support their engagement with systems at the individual, community, and policy level. Once accepted, emerging family and community leaders participate in a 20-week training that integrates personal and child development, leadership skill development, civic literacy, and civic engagement. The learning experience utilizes a proven implementation model grounded in diversity, shared leadership, and respect for the unique assets of each community. FLTI is a family civics initiative modeled after the Connecticut Commission on Children’s PLTI curriculum and its community implementation practices. The curriculum features five components:
- A community building retreat.
- Phase One-10 sessions that focus on personal leadership development.
- Phase Two-10 sessions that focus on the civic process and change.
- A Day at the Capitol for on-site learning.
- A personally developed civic project.
FLTI is a nonpartisan class that brings diverse family leaders together to explore their own leadership goals, community issues, and those vital leadership and civic skills that all leaders need to create positive change in communities. In addition, FLTI transforms communities as family leaders become more visible and engaged. Agencies and policy leaders begin to view families as assets and vital players the change process, and family leadership is embedded in systems as the “way of doing business.”