• Sharing with parents, on a continuing basis and in a supportive manner, complete and unbiased information.

• Recognizing that the family is the constant in a child's life, while the service systems and personnel within those systems fluctuate.
• Designing accessible service delivery systems that are flexible, culturally competent, and responsive to family-identified needs.
• Encouraging and facilitating family-to-family support and networking.
• Understanding and incorporating the developmental needs of infants, children, and adolescents and their families into service delivery systems.
• Facilitating parent/professional collaboration at all levels of service provision
  -services for an individual child;
  -program development, implementation, and evaluation; and policy formation.
• Recognizing family strengths and individuality and respecting different methods of coping.
• Implementing comprehensive policies and programs that provide emotional and financial support to meet the needs of families.
• Honoring the racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity of families.

(Adapted from the Key Elements of Family-Centered Care, National Center for Family-Centered Care, the Association for the Care of Children's Health.)

Project Copernicus Handout
Overview of Family-Centered Service Coordination/2