No abstract

Throughout the past several decades the economic and cultural conditions of the American family have changed dramatically. These changing family dynamics create challenges for service providers to work with families in a way that supports their healthy functioning and respects their values. The presence of multiple risk factors is generally understood to create discontinuities in interaction rules between home and community environments and contribute to challenges in assuring positive family functioning. Within this chapter, we discuss the characteristics of healthy children and families and how the parent—child relationship can serve as a protective factor for young children at risk. Family-centered positive psychology (FCPP) recognizes the family as a constant in the child's life and strives to support both child well-being and healthy family functioning. Throughout this chapter, families and children are discussed from a strengths-based approach that recognizes the assets and strengths present within the family rather than the deficits or limitations. Family-centered services (FCSs) are a framework for service delivery that is based on the principles of FCPP. In FCSs, service providers strive to create a context within which families may become empowered; assist family members to identify their unique needs and acquire skills and competencies; and identify social networks to promote positive outcomes for the child and family. In this chapter, we describe the primary principles of family-centered care, discuss implications for practice, describe one model of family-centered care that illustrates FCS in practice, and discuss future research directions for FCPP.

Objective: It is critical to address the behavioral health (BH) needs of youth given the high prevalence of diagnosable BH concerns prior to age 18 and the barriers for accessing BH services. To improve access, integration of BH services with primary care is increasing. The colocated model is one proposed method for increasing access to BH services for children. The current study sought to provide demonstration data for colocated BH services within the pediatric medical home. Method: A retrospective review of 694 new BH patient charts ranging from 1–18 years from 9 primary care clinics across three states participated. Data on number of sessions attended with a BH provider, report of homework completion (where relevant), clinician rating of adherence, and improvement ratings were collected. Results: Across all sites, 85% of referred patients attended their first appointment, and 84% of patients showed improvement over a 6-month period. Conclusions: This study is among the first to provide outcome data demonstrating the effectiveness of the colocated model for delivering BH services in primary care. Data provide information on the relationship between patient outcomes and adherence to recommendations delivered during colocated BH treatment. High attendance rates at initial appointment and overall improvement ratings were observed, suggesting the colocated BH model is a feasible model to improve access and outcomes in pediatric BH services.