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Family Support Services

Family support services promote healthy development by helping parents to enhance their strengths and resolve problems that can lead to child maltreatment, developmental delays, and family disruption. Services include peer support and counseling, early developmental screening, parent education, early childhood development, child care and respite care, home visits, family resource centers, school-linked services, recreation, and job or skills education or training. Programs may address the general population or be targeted to ethnic/cultural minorities, families facing health, mental health, or substance abuse issues, adolescent parents, or kinship caregivers.

• 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
• State and local examples
• Effectiveness of family support services

Selected Resources 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. 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.

	Related Information Gateway Topics Preventing child abuse & neglect: Strengthening families Preventing child abuse & neglect: Parenting resources Preventing child abuse & neglect: Building community support Systemwide: Youth services

Updated on April 3, 2009