and reach thousands of daily visitors
24 OCTOBER
No 1234
Working with parents
The literature pertaining to the involvement of families in residential care clearly outlines several approaches, models, and programs that can be used to incorporate services for families into a residential program. These include involving parents as partners in the treatment process, providing opportunities for parents to become active participants in the daily life of the program, expecting parents to maintain responsibility for their child after placement, facilitating regular contact and home visits, and providing parent education and support (Garland, 1987). All of these methods can be used alone or in conjunction with each other to provide a comprehensive approach to family involvement.
The various ways of working with families can be divided into two distinct categories: those that involve families directly in the residential program and those that provide services such as support, education, or counseling to families outside of the program.
In the first category, “the primary input role for family members is as participants in the treatment process†(Garfat, 1990, p. 138). Garfat provides an excellent illustration of involving parents and he describes the process of utilizing the skills and strengths of parents as a means of including them directly in the program. A mother who can sing and play the guitar can provide entertainment and lessons once a week to the young people in the unit; a parent with a knack for carpentry can assist with household repairs and maintenance; other parents can take on such responsibilities as offering cooking lessons, teaching art, and reading bedtime stories.
Parental involvement can take other forms. Parents can be assigned specific responsibilities for their child while in care such as purchasing clothing, attending medical and other appointments, and assisting with homework. Parents can also work as partners with the staff in establishing rules or helping to solve their child’s behavior problems (Jepson & Whittaker, 1987).
At Parsons Child and Family Center, family work is the responsibility of the child-care workers in the daily treatment milieu (Littauer, 1980). Families visit the cottage for varying periods of time, ranging from one afternoon a week to extended visits of several days. These visits provide opportunities for child care staff to complete assessments on the needs of the family, model effective parenting and communication skills, involve parents in program activities, and offer direct help to the parents in the form of nurturing, sharing frustrations, and offering feedback and suggestions.
Garland (1987) outlines several strategies for moving an agency into a model of family intervention. She recommends that it is necessary to “draw the family generation line so that the child care worker is a partner with the parent†(p. 27). Clear lines of communication must be established so that the children are not able to manipulate one party against the other and to clarify and correct any differences or misunderstandings. Parents must also become frequent, active participants in the program, not just visitors. “Parents must either accept the parental role or give it up so that other permanent arrangements for a family for the child can be made†(Garland, 1987, p. 27). Furthermore, parents can be encouraged to interact with other children in the placement, besides their own, and become involved in special projects. Child care workers and social workers can collaborate on visits to the family home and as co-therapists in counseling (Garland, 1987).
HEATHER MODLIN
Modlin, H. (2003). The development of a parent support group as a means of initiating family involvement in a residential program. In Garfat, T. (Ed.) A Child and Youth Care Approach to Working with Families. New York: Haworth, pp.169-189
REFERENCES
Garfat, T. (1990). The involvement of family members as consumers in treatment programs for troubled youths. In M. Krueger, & N. Powell (Eds.). Choices in caring. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.
Garland, D. S. (1987). Residential child care workers as primary agents of family intervention. Child and Youth Care Quarterly, 16(1), 21-34.
Jenson. J. M., & Whittaker, J. K. (1987). Parental involvement in residential treatment. Children and Youth Services Review, 9, 81-100.
Littauer, C. (1980). Working with families of children in residential
treatment. Child Welfare, 59(4), 225-234.
