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Family Resource, Support, & Education Services
Family resource, support, and education services—referred to generically as family support services—are community-based services that assist and support parents in their role as caregivers, with the goal of promoting parental competency and strengthening family life, leading to healthy child and family development.
Family support services seek to supplement family and community efforts to ensure children's optimal development by assisting parents in making the best use of available resources, enhancing the quality of relationships among family members and between families and their communities, and helping them cope with the challenges and stresses of child rearing. Family support services assist families in achieving greater self-sufficiency and in confidently managing their own affairs. They provide parents with the skills and knowledge to be effective advocates for themselves, their children, and their communities.
Family support services may be directed to all families with children or to a group of families with common characteristics, such as adolescent parents or parents of children with disabilities. These services are shaped by and are responsive to the needs and interests of participating families and are well-adapted and integrated into the community in which they are located.
Family support services may be delivered through a stand-alone program, such as a family resource center, or they may be located at a school, place of worship, or work site to maximize accessibility to children and families in need of services. These programs offer a range of supportive services for parents and their children, including:
- Introduction to family support
- Planning & implementing family support programs
- Parent support groups
- Early developmental screening
- Parent education
- Early childhood programs
- Childcare & respite care services
- Home visiting
- Family resource centers
- School-linked services
- Referral & linkage to resources
- Outreach
- Education & job skill development
- Specialized services for young parents
- Specialized services for kinship caregivers
- Supporting military families
- State and local examples
- Effectiveness of family support services
Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families
Maternal and Child Health Library
Helps service providers and families find available national, State, and local resources that can address child and family needs in areas such as education, health, mental health, family support, parenting, child care, and financial support.
Parents Anonymous® Inc.
Provides parents and caregivers emotional support and links to services if necessary:
1.855.4.A.PARENT (1.855.427.2736)
Midwest Learning Center for Family Support
Family Focus, Inc.
Provides training, professional development, and program partnerships to ensure the integration of family support principles into human service practices. Offers an online bookstore and a subscription to legacy materials published by Family Support America.