Providing Family Centered Services

'...If we're going to be successful with families, we're going to need to 

reorient as professionals. We're going to need to look to families as leaders, 

families as experts, families as bosses. We're going to need to ask them to 

join us cooperatively as equals in this partnership so that we create a reality 

there that matches what all of us want to see.' 

- Lisebeth Vincent

·         Recognize that family is constant in a person's life, while service systems fluctuate;

·         Facilitate family / professional collaboration at all levels of services;

·         Honor racial, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic diversity of families;

·         Recognize individual family strengths and respect different methods of coping

·         Share complete and unbiased information with families on a continuing basis and in a supportive manner;

·         Encourage family-to-family support and networking;

·         Recognize and meet developmental needs of infants, children, adolescents and adults, and their families, into service systems;

·         Create policies and programs that offer families emotional and financial support;

·         Offer accessible, flexible, culturally competent and responsive services.

http://ddsn.sc.gov/providers/publications/Documents/WorkingWithFamilies.pdf