Beyond the Individualized Family Service Plan (I.F.S.P)

1. Beyond the Individualized Family Service Plan (I.F.S.P) Presented by Desirée Brown, Parent Coordinator DC Early Intervention Program & Salvador Hernandez, Parent Representative DC Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC)

2. Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) American Industrialist

3. Family Centered Services “Family-Centered service is the philosophical tenet that must be internalized in early intervention. The practical application of this philosophy, once embraced, requires thought, ingenuity, experimentation and continuing re-evaluation. Making early intervention family-centered will not only enhance the likelihood of success, it will promote the importance of the family in all spheres of our society.” From Working with Families in Early Intervention by James A. Blackman

4. What is Meaningful Family Involvement? Developing and Promoting opportunities for families to participate in the Early Intervention System at the level in which they feel comfortable

5. Partnership • Cannot be faked ~ Be prepared to treat your partner’s concerns as equal in importance as your own • Demands creativity ~ Find new ways in which to meet both parties needs • Requires some compromise • Demands commitment and consistency • Requires flexibility • Requires fairness

6. Let go of the titles…

7. Develop trust and mutual respect

8. Respect the Uniqueness of Each Family System Acknowledge and respect the family system which is heavily influenced by a family’s cultural values and beliefs.

9. Communicate in culturally appropriate ways • Do not assume a dominant role as a professional ~ in some cultures this may prove to be a source of tension and may result in family members withholding information. • Do obtain translators and interpreters who are fluent in the family’s primary language to explain or clarify information related to programs and services • Maintain open and on-going communication w/families from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Use whatever method works (e.g. notebooks, oral exchanges and most importantly the method the family prefers)

10. Effective Communication Means sharing information so that each partner is equipped to manage appropriately for everyone’s mutual benefit

11. Working w/Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Families Requires a system that supports the development of these relationships. A variety of interrelated issues and personal characteristics influence the development of relationships between professionals and those they serve including family structure, age, length of time since immigration and cultural expectations about services and outcomes

12. What DC has in place • Family Support Group meetings • Annual Toy Give Away • Comprehensive System of Personnel Development • Program Monitoring • Parent – to – Parent networking • Interagency Coordinating Council • Early Intervention/Early Childhood Training Institute • Family Satisfaction Survey • Service Coordination “Pilot Project” • Transition Orientation • Provider Orientation

13. What’s Next? • Family Orientation to EI system • Families as Mediators • Quarterly satisfaction surveys

14. Did I paint a rosy picture?Barriers we faced • Understanding what cultural and linguistic competency is all about • Did we really develop our monitoring tool without a parent’s input? • How in the world did those first family support group meetings occur without disaster? • Yo Habla Espanol? • What were parent’s interested in doing anyway? • Why didn’t Spanish speaking families show up to the meetings and don’t we serve any Caucasian folk? • Do families trust us?

15. I think I know what I’m talking about… But let’s hear from Mr. Salvador Hernandez who has graciously taken the time to be here today. His input as a parent, advocate and cultural background are an invaluable resource.

16. “Do you like being a parent – you know, being a father, having children and all?” Linnet once asked me. “Yes,” I said, after a moment. “It’s like dancing with a partner. It takes a lot of effort to do it well. But when it’s done well it’s a beautiful thing to see.” Gerald Early U.S. Writer, Specialist in African American Studies

17. Come Away with Me…

18. Mount Everest is so huge, it takes a whole group to climb it. ~Sam, Age Seven, Whose Sister is Medically Fragile

19. Raising a child who needs significant levels of support is an extraordinary task.

20. It may take the family plus a whole group of other people to do It: a school team, a case manager, a medical team or a squad of personal care attendants.

21. We may have a child who’s needs are so complex and significant that many groups are required

22. Working with teams of people requires attention, energy and management skills far beyond the norm.

23. Most of us have added these to our usual parenting tasks without thinking much about them because we had to, and have become so used to the extraordinary job we are doing that we take it for granted.

24. Today, I will take time out to be conscious that I am climbing Mount Everest.

25. I will remember that I need and deserve nourishment, rest and periods of relief in order to stay the course.

26. I will also remember that I cannot do the job alone. ~Sam’s mom

27. A Journey thru Early Intervention