Jean Ann Summers

Dimensions of Family and Professional Partnerships: Constructive Guidelines for Collaboration:

The development of collaborative partnerships between parents and professionals is too often unsuccessful. One reason for this failure may be the lack of empirical understanding of the components of interpersonal partnerships. Using qualitative inquiry, 33 focus groups were conducted with adult family members of children with and without disabilities and service providers and administrators. In addition, 32 individual interviews were conducted with non-English-speaking parents and their service providers. Indicators of professional behavior facilitative of collaborative partnerships were identified. These indicators were organized into six broad themes: (a) Communication, (b) Commitment, (c) Equality, (d) Skills, (e) Trust, and (f) Respect. The specific meaning of each theme is described, including similarities and differences between professionals and family members. Policy, practice, and future research implications are discussed.

Relationship of Perceived Adequacy of Services, Family–Professional Partnerships, and Family Quality of Life in Early Childhood Service Programmes

This study applied three family measures (ratings of service adequacy or implementation, satisfaction with the family–professional partnership, and family quality of life) to a sample of families of young children in one Midwestern U.S. state. The results suggest that: (a) families more often believe they are receiving adequate amounts of services for their child, but tend to believe they are not receiving adequate amounts of services for their family; (b) respondents tend to be satisfied with their partnerships with their primary service provider, with lower satisfaction ratings for the providers ability to meet their childs individual needs and to provide information about services; and (c) respondents tended to be more satisfied with their familys material well‐being and less so with their familys emotional well‐being. Finally, we found that service adequacy ratings were a significant predictor of family quality of life, and that partnerships partially mediated this effect. We discuss the research, service, and policy implications of these findings.

Examining the Individualized Family Service Plan Process What Are Family and Practitioner Preferences

Early childhood intervention specialists need information on practices and procedures that are both helpful and positively perceived by both families and practitioners. This study used nine consumer focus groups to determine preferences for practices. The researchers share principles for early intervention services, preferences for identification of family strengths and needs, and the outcomes that are most desired from program services. These findings suggest a need to rethink how we deliver services and interact with family members.

Family Supports and Services in Early Intervention: A Bold Vision

This article utilizes four knowledge sources to characterize a current gap in policy and practice related to serving families in early intervention (birth to 5) programs. It argues that the field of early intervention has focused primarily on implementing family-centered practices by focusing on how families and professionals should interact. The field has not sufficiently addressed what supports and services should be offered to families to enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes for families themselves and for their children with disabilities. The paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing policy, research, and professional development related to family services and supports.

Theorizing About Family Quality of Life

In this chapter we present a unified theory of family quality of life (FQOL) for families of children with intellectual and other disabilities. We begin with a review of the definitional and explanatory components of FQOL and the variables forwarded in the family quality of life (FQOL) literature. We depict FQOL as an interactive process in which individual family member demographics, characteristics, and beliefs interact with family-unit dynamics and characteristics within the context of individual and family-level supports, services, and practices. This interactive inner framework of the model is further impacted by federal, state, and local systems, policies, and programs. Using the basic building blocks of theory and empirical data from the family quality of literature, we illustrate how these unique components combine to produce an explanation of FQOL. We end with a working theoretical model of FQOL which serves as a guide for researchers to generate multiple testable theoretical statements.

Characteristics and Trends in Family-Centered Conceptualizations

Early-intervention and early childhood professionals have long considered family-centered service delivery best practice. Exactly what family-centered practice means, however, remains unclear. The lack of consensus in defining family centeredness results in incongruence in the manner and degree to which professionals implement family centeredness. This review of the literature examines current conceptualizations of family-centered practice in an effort to determine whether there is a common definition; and, if so, how that definition has changed over the past decade. The authors found that, though the key elements of family centeredness (i.e., family as the unit of attention, family choice, family strengths, family–professional relationship, and individualized family services) have remained consistent, the emphasis has shifted from the family as the unit of attention to family–professional relationship and family choice. Implications for early intervention practice and research are discussed.

Understanding Qualitative Metasynthesis Issues and Opportunities in Early Childhood Intervention Research

Qualitative metasynthesis is an intentional and coherent approach to analyzing data across qualitative studies. It is a process that enables researchers to identify a specific research question and then search for, select, appraise, summarize, and combine qualitative evidence to address the research question. This process uses rigorous qualitative methods to synthesize existing qualitative studies to construct greater meaning through an interpretative process. The purpose of this article is to describe qualitative metasynthesis as an innovative research approach for the field of early childhood intervention. Although this is not a new research approach in other fields, the authors suggest that it can offer a promising practice in the field of early childhood intervention. In this article, the authors explore how qualitative metasynthesis can be a practical and effective approach of inquiry as they continue to broaden their understanding about young children with disabilities and their families.

Family Outcomes of Early Intervention: Families' Perceptions of Need, Services, and Outcomes.

Relationships between parent ratings of Part C/early intervention (EI) services and family outcomes for families of young children with disabilities were examined—specifically, the early childhood outcomes (ECO)–recommended family outcomes and family quality of life (FQOL). Measures included the Early Childhood Services Survey, the ECO Center Family Outcomes Survey, and the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale. Findings support a logic-model relationship between parent ratings of Part C/EI services, ECO-recommended family outcomes, and FQOL. Parent ratings of Part C/EI services were found to predict immediate family outcomes as measured by ECO-recommended family outcomes, and ECO-recommended family outcomes, in turn, predicted the broader outcome of enhanced FQOL. Implications for EI practice and evaluation are discussed.

Boundaries in Family—Professional Relationships Implications for Special Education

The issue of boundaries between professionals and individuals/families is well documented within the clinical fields of counseling and social work but not thoroughly investigated in special education. Because maintaining quality relationships between families and educators is important, the development of appropriate guidelines requires a thorough understanding of the preferences of families and educators about the boundaries of their relationships. The authors investigated those preferences through a secondary analysis of a qualitative data set focusing on preferences for partnerships between families of children with disabilities and professionals. They analyzed transcripts from 34 focus groups and 32 individual interviews, identifying three themes related to boundary issues: (a) accessibility/availability (being reliably and flexibly available to families), (b) breadth of responsibility (going beyond strict interpretation of ones job description in working with families), and (c) dual relationships (fostering friendships, mutual support, or other roles in addition to a strict parent—professional relationship). Implications for parent—professional relationships and suggestions for conversations between professionals and families on preferences for boundaries are discussed.

Partnership Patterns: Addressing Emotional Needs in Early Intervention.

Home visiting in early intervention is the primary model for delivering services and building partnerships with children and families. Using interviews with early interventionists and family members, this study investigated the extent to which families’ and professionals’ emotional needs were met during home visits and what factors contributed to or interfered with the formation of an emotionally supportive partnership. The findings were that the types of emotional needs experienced to one degree or another by both families and professionals included a need to have hope for the child, a sense of urgency to provide interventions, a feeling of being challenged by multiple issues, and a sense of overload. Second, the authors found that the quality of the partnership was dependent on the degree to which there was a match or mismatch in emotional needs between the family and the professional. The data highlight the need to address the emotional needs of both families and early interventionists to build a supportive family-centered partnership. Discussion focuses on the practice and research issues of these findings.