Tutorial 5 · Partnering with Families in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Take Home Messages
- A family partnership is a two-way venture between people who agree to share responsibility for achieving a specific goal.
- The quality of young children's relationships with familiar caregivers impacts their intellectual, social and cognitive development.
- Families are partners in all aspects of early childhood mental health consultation as it relates to their child or children.
- Head Start Performance Standards support staff to work collaboratively with families.
- Family involvement in consultation leads to better outcomes for children.
- Family partnerships are built through ongoing relationships.
- It is important to recognize barriers to partnering and make plans to overcome those barriers.
- Respect and trust are the framework from which strong partnerships develop.
- Understanding a family’s culture supports infusing strategies and practices that celebrate a family’s unique strengths and needs.
- Using a strength-based approach empowers families to build their own capacity for taking on challenges.
- Exploring and partnering to strengthen a family’s protective factors can lead to their resilience.
- Positive and meaningful communication between consultants, caregivers and families greatly enhances consultation practices.
This website was made possible by grant number 90YD0268 from the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views or policies of the funding agency nor does publication in any way constitute an endorsement by the funding agency.
