Family Needs, Sources of Support, and Professional Roles: Critical Elements of Family Systems Assessment and Intervention

Abstract

A family-level, needs-based model of assessment and intervention is described. The model includes three major components: specification of family needs, identification of sources of support and resources to meet needs, and staff roles in helping families access resources from their support networks. The importance of a broader-based, social systems approach to assessment and intervention is emphasized.In this article we describe how the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) uses a needs-based, social support approach to providing and mediating both child-and family-level resources and services. FIPP is an outreach unit of Western Carolina Center, located in Morganton, North Carolina. The program provides home-, center-, and community-based services to approximately 300 families of handicapped, retarded, delayed, and at-risk children from birth to 6 years of age. Detailed descriptions of FIPP can be found in Dunst (1985) and Dunst, Trivette, McWilliam, and Galant (in press).The needs-based assessment and intervention strategy used by FIPP includes three major components: specification of family needs, identification of sources of support and resources to meet needs, and staff roles in helping families access resources from their support networks (see Figure 1). Family concerns, issues, and priorities are first identified using a number of needs-based assessment procedures and strategies. After needs have been specified, the parents and staff together &dquo;map&dquo; the family's social Appreciation is extended to

Weaving Interventions into the Fabric of Everyday Life

“…Dunst and his colleagues (Dunst, 1985;Dunst et al, 1988;Trivette, Deal, &c Dunst, 1986) integrate aspects of social network theory with human ecology, help-seeking, and adaptational theories. Their work examines the relationships between dimensions of support, including the perceived helpfulness of a support network, and family adaptation.…”

An Enablement and Empowerment Perspective of Case Management

“…The help-giving characteristics that form the basis for the enablement model of case management suggest expanded professional roles and functions, and also a shift in the ways in which roles are performed (Dunst et al, 1988b;Trivette et al, 1986). Although traditional case manager functions (mobilizer, advocate, broker, etc.…”

Le développement du pouvoir d’agir au sein des relations parents-professionnels en contexte d’intervention précoce

“…Toutefois, le concept même du DPA demeure encore ambiguë (Ninacs, 1995). Les facteurs menant vers le DPA restent flous : ils ne sont ni clairement identifiés ni liés entre eux (Trivette, Deal, & Dunst, 1996). Il semble donc nécessaire d' aller investiguer les expériences qui favorisent le DPA des familles.…”