Family-centred practice has been internationally recognized over the past several decades as being highly relevant in the design and delivery of children’s services. To varying degrees it has been incorporated into programs of service delivery in child developmental disability, child health, child mental health, and child welfare. In many ways the operational definition of family-centred practice has depended on the service context in which it is applied. It can mean different things when applied in community-based family support programs such as child disability services, in highly specialized services such as paediatric surgery departments in hospitals, or in mandated services such...

There is consensus (Dunst, Trivette, & Deal, 1994; Rosenbaum, King, Law, King, & Evans, 1998; Shelton, Jeppson, & Johnson, 1987; Trute, 2007) that key beliefs underlying a family-centred practice model across children’s services include

1 the family is a constant in a child’s life (not the professional), and the family holds essential child expertise and knowledge to inform service planning and delivery;

2 you cannot help a child without simultaneously helping a family (and often working with the community within which the family is embedded);

3 whenever possible, parents should be “senior” partners with professionals in the creation of service...

It is not uncommon for human service professionals to confuse service delivery duties and competencies when the differences between family-centred counselling, family therapy, and family service coordination are considered. Although there can be overlap between these three spheres of service delivery, each of these distinct practice domains has its own cluster of intervention goals and level of required practice skill. In some basic ways these three practice domains overlap, and in some important ways they differ. The intent of this chapter is to define and describe these three practice domains, all of which can fall under the aegis of family-centred...

No matter what the service context, practice setting, or professional discipline, family-centred practice at the most fundamental level requires that professionals are capable of building and maintaining positive working alliances. The working alliance is based on a goal-driven collaboration between the service provider and service recipient. Family-centred practice requires as a foundational element the establishment of a positive working alliance between parents and professionals that is characterized by mutual trust and respect, cooperative rapport, and clear communication (Beckman, 1996; Dunst, Trivette, & Deal, 1994). Since parents represent the executive authority in the family, and optimally can serve as the hub...

Family-centred practice in children’s services requires a widening of the traditional child assessment lens. The practitioner’s focus of interest must move beyond the well-being of an individual child to the well-being of the child while nested in a family. That is, it is understood that family beliefs, family coping resources, and perceived service needs must be considered when working to advance the well-being of a child. Further, consideration needs to be given to the support resources that are available to the child from within the immediate family as well as beyond the family boundary, from friends, extended family members, and...

The concept of empowerment is widely embraced in the human services and there is an extensive literature on empowerment initiatives within the theory and practice of social science disciplines (Gutierrez, 1990, 1995; McWhirter, 1991; Suarez-Balcazar, Harper, & Lewis, 2005). Empowerment is also at the forefront of the majority of policy directives that guide human services, and it would be difficult to discover a program that does not seek to “empower” its clients in some way. However, the use of the term empowerment has become a cliché to the extent that the rhetoric significantly outweighs practitioners’ comprehensive knowledge of the components...

The view that individuals are part of multiple environments (both physical and social) that influence growth and development is core to Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) concept of social ecology. Consistent with social systems theory, social ecology emphasizes that individuals both influence and are influenced by the interactions that occur in these environments. As applied to children with special needs, these concepts suggest that the multitude of relationships that exist between the child and his/her social and physical environments must be examined to understand the child’s development. While the family is central, providing the most immediate and enduring environment within which the child...

There is widespread acknowledgment of the importance of parent involvement in services directed towards enhancing child well-being (e.g., Mahoney & Wiggers, 2007; Saint-Jacques, Drapeau, Lessard, & Beaudoin, 2006). Parents play both a direct and an indirect role in child outcomes, and thus the involvement of parents in children’s services is essential to achieve intervention goals. While professionals may initiate intervention to enhance child development, parents are key to ensuring that the changes are supported and reinforced in the home environment. Intervention with parents that assists them in learning how to promote their children’s development through daily activities directly influences the...

A cornerstone in the planning and delivery of family-centred services is the implementation and ongoing use of a Family-Centred Support Plan (FCSP). The early development of this service planning process was profoundly influenced in Canada by federal legislation in the United States. The legislation in the United States required the implementation of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) to qualify for federal funding. Public Law 99-457 of the United States Congress detailed the specific components of the IFSP. Within that law, part H, section 677, requires that the plan be developed by a team that includes participation by parents or...

Family-centred service encompasses both a conceptual framework and action elements that translate family-centred theory into practice. The conceptual framework provides workers with an informed approach that builds on the key aspects of family-centred theory; it emphasizes that practice must be respectful, relational, congruent, planned, and specific. Although the process may appear linear, in reality the implementation of family-centred practice can be complex and dynamic, and the boundaries between the theoretical knowledge base of the worker and how this is connected with practice (action components) are fluid. Family-centred practice represents a paradigm shift regarding conceptualizations of how to respond to family...

The concept of fatherhood is undergoing shifts in Canadian and other western societies. Earlier models largely relegated fatherhood to bread-winning and child discipline. As a result, fatherhood was seen as peripheral to the nurturing and daily care of children. In recent years, there has been greater recognition of the important roles that fathers play in the lives of their children. We are beginning to ask important questions such as “what important impacts do fathers have on their child’s development?” and “how is fatherhood meaningful and rewarding to men?” Images of fatherhood are shifting from a view of fathers as stoic...

During the past two decades, human service professionals have been challenged to ensure the programs and services offered by their organizations are responsive and effective to the changing racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural composition of today’s diverse population in Canada. An extensive body of literature exists, based both in theory and prescriptive research, which practitioners can utilize in their efforts to provide effective programs for service users from varied backgrounds.

Several factors have contributed to the growing volume of literature focused on practices to address increasing diversity. A major force driving both health and social service organizations to engage in...

This chapter aims to provide direction for supervisors who are responsible for overseeing practitioners providing services within the context of an organization whose mandate is to create family-centred policy and deliver family-centred service. While the chapter does not present a new model of supervision and relies substantially on the writings of experts in the supervision field (e.g., Kadushin & Harkness, 2002; Shulman, 1993, 2006) to summarize critical components of the supervision context and process, the chapter does offer a different perspective on supervision with an emphasis on the application of supervision within a family-centred context of service planning, delivery, and...

This chapter focuses on the role of managers in the implementation of family-centred services within organizations. The term “manager” is meant to be inclusive and refers broadly to those responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of organizational change and innovation and includes staff responsible for administrative tasks such as policy and service planning.

Human service organizations differ from other organizations in that they exist mainly to plan and provide services to people by people (Hasenfeld, 1983). Most human service organizations are bureaucratic in structure (Cohen, 2002), have multiple goals (Gummer, 1990), and face many challenges in the quest to...