An Informed, Family-Centered Approach to Public Law 99-457

Able-Boone, Harriet; Sandall, Susan R.; Loughry, Andrea; Frederick, Linda L.

doi:10.1177/027112149001000108

Cited by 38 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Research shows that families want an informal process for developing the IFSP (Summers et al, 1990), the option of no goals or home programs, flexible (not definite) goals, and options within the plan (Able-Boone, Sandall, Loughry, & Frederick, 1990). Providing formal training to families in the IFSP process has resulted in statements of the present level of functioning being written in "parent language" (Campbell, Strickland, & La Forme, 1992).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Family-Centeredness of Individualized Family Service Plans

McWilliam

Ferguson

Harbin

et al. 1998

Topics in Early Childhood Special Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

T his study assesses the validity of a rating scale of the family-centeredness of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) and describes IFSPs from several types of agencies. One hundred IFSPs from four agency types (home-based early intervention, home-based service coordination, center-based segregated, center-based inclusive) were rated on 21 items grouped into Cohesion, Functionality, and Clarity factors. The IFSP Family-Centeredness Rating Scale was successful in finding differences between agencies. Overall, the highest rated items were identifying the family's role and writing in the active voice. The lowest rated items were integration across disciplines/ professionals, specificity, and positiveness. Overwhelmingly more child-related goals were written compared to family-related goals. The importance of family-centered IFSPs is discussed in terms of families' rights and how the document reflects the program's or service provider's philosophy. Part C (formerly Part H) of the Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities EducationAct (IDEA; P.L. 105-17; 1997) requires that professionals look beyond the needs of the child, recognize the child's needs in light of the family context, and share decision-making power with family members. The literature has shown that family-centered services include viewing the child in the context of the family, responding to family concerns and priorities, working in partnership with families, and enabling families to use resources to meet their needs (Bailey, McWilliam, Winton, & Simeonsson, 1991; Dunst, Johanson, Trivette, & Hamby, 1991) Desimone, 1995). It therefore follows that the document itself can be reviewed to determine the extent to which it reflects family-centered practices. As individual states move forward with full implementation of Part C, the need to examine and ensure the family-centeredness of IFSPs becomes more compelling. . The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) theoretically (a) shows that early intervention is concerned with the whole family and (b) results from a family-centered process of identifying child and family strengths and needs and deciding on intervention priorities (see Gallagher &This study is based on the following assumptions:• The IFSP should be a document for the family as well as for professionals; • The IFSP should reflect what the family wants; • The IFSP should reflect recommended practices (anything less is unfair to families); and • The IFSP should be functional (i.e., useful to families and service providers).These assumptions define family-centeredness as it applies to the IFSP. A family-centered document is positive, written with understandable language, and has the right balance of precision and scope. A document that reflects what the family wants should have no more equivocation than the family feels. Neither the ambiguity of professional jargon nor the double talk of bureaucratic evasion should appear. A document with recommended practices should emphasize developmentally appropriate activities, individualized i...

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Family-Centeredness of Individualized Family Service Plans

McWilliam

Ferguson

Harbin

et al. 1998

Topics in Early Childhood Special Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies reporting consumer satisfaction have addressed both program and systemlevel concerns such as developing individualized family service plans (IFSPs) and assisting families in finding out about services (Summers et al, 1990); creating opportunities for family decision making (Able-Boone, Sandall, Loughry, &C Frederick, 1990); accessing and coordinating services (Able-Boone, Goodwin, Sandall, Gordon, &c Martin, 1992); obtaining therapies and accessing inclusive placements (McWilliam et al, 1995); arranging childcare (Warfield & Hauser-Cram, 1996); and making the transition to kindergarten (Hamblin-Wilson & Thurman, 1990).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Family and Professional Perspectives on Early Intervention

Wesley

Buysse

Tyndall

1997

Topics in Early Childhood Special Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study presents findings from a series of focus groups conducted to explore parent and professional experiences and perspectives regarding inclusion and early intervention. The 45 focus group participants consisted of 13 parents of young children (birth through 5 years) with disabilities and 32 professionals representing service providers and administrators from an array of human services programs and agencies such as child care, early intervention, social services, public health, mental health, and public schools. The focus groups were organized to address (a) participants' awareness of early intervention services, (b) their perceptions of barriers and supports to inclusion, (c) their notions of service coordination, (d) their experiences with a statewide initiative to improve early childhood services for all children, and (e) their views of what an ideal system of early intervention would look like. Results revealed four overarching themes, most notable of which distinguish between parents' and professionals' abilities to describe the current early intervention system and to envision an ideal system of services.

show abstract

“…As with family involvement, there has been a significant call in the literature for specifically designing services to facilitate the empowerment of the recipients of such services (Freund, 1993;Parsons, 1991;Singh, 1995;Sluyter, 1994;Staples, 1990). Facilitating family empowerment has been shown to be an important ingredient in leading to positive outcomes in both educational and mental health settings (Able-Boone, Sandall, Loughry, & Frederick, 1990;Byalin, 1990;Delgado-Gaitan, 1991;Dunst, Trivette, Davis, & Cornwell, 1988). Family empowerment has been shown to be an empirically valid and measurable concept within the context of mental health service-delivery systems for children and adolescents with EBD (Koren, DeChillo, & Friesen, 1992;Singh, Curtis, Ellis, et al, 1995).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Friendliness of Community-Based Services for Children and Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Their Families

Singh

Curtis

Wechsler

et al. 1997

Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In systems of care, the term family friendly is used to describe services that are aligned with the needs of the families and delivered in a manner that shows professionals value and respect family involvement, empowerment, and cultural differences. The authors devised a 42-item structured observation instrument to rate the family friendliness of one component of the systems of care in Virginia for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and their families. The instrument covers typical aspects of the meeting process, such as meeting management, case presentation, and formulation of service plans. It also allows for the collection of data on relevant characteristics of the meeting participants as well as demographic information on the children and their families. This instrument was used to rate the family friendliness of Family Assessment and Planning Team (FAPT) meetings, the purpose of which is to develop community-based service plans for children with EBD who are referred to the team. These teams meet in local communities and typically consist of representatives from the local juvenile court, education, health, mental health, and social service agencies. The authors observed 79 case presentations at 31 FAPT meetings in 7 localities. Although there were variations within, between, and among localities, the overall rating of family friendliness across all case presentations was good (63%). Improvements in the FAPT process are needed to assure increased family friendliness in the planning of services for children with EBD and their families.

show abstract

An Informed, Family-Centered Approach to Public Law 99-457

Cited by 38 publications

References 6 publications

The Family-Centeredness of Individualized Family Service Plans

The Family-Centeredness of Individualized Family Service Plans

Family and Professional Perspectives on Early Intervention

Family Friendliness of Community-Based Services for Children and Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Their Families

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About