Principles of Family Support Practice

  1. Staff and families work together in relationships based on equality and respect.

  2. Staff enhance families' capacity to support the growth and development of all family members - adults, youth, and children.

  3. Families are resources to their own members, to other families, to programs, and to communities.

  4. Programs affirm and strengthen families' cultural, racial, and linguistic identities and enhance their ability to function in a multicultural society.

  5. Programs are embedded in their communities and contribute to the community-building process.

  6. Programs advocate with families for services and systems that are fair, responsive, and accountable to the families served.

  7. Practitioners work with families to mobilize formal and informal resources to support family development.

  8. Programs are flexible and continually responsive to emerging family and community issues.

  9. Principles of family support are modeled in all program activities, including planning, governance, and administration.

From: Guidelines for Family Support Practice (1996) (Chicago: Family Support America)

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