Date of Award:

5-1994

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Richard N. Roberts

Committee

Richard N. Roberts

Abstract

Current legislation regarding early intervention services has focused on the family unit, rather than the individual child, as the recipient of services. A model of family-centered care has been adopted and as a result, new models for service delivery have been developed. The present study examined family perspectives of the professional-paraprofessional partnership model, and assessed the ecological validity of this model as it relates to the basic principles of family-centered care. Families who participated in an early intervention program that utilized the professional-paraprofessional partnership model were interviewed upon program completion. Families reported receiving a wide range of child and family services, as well as assistance from their home visitor in accessing formal and informal resources within their community. Families recognized and positively responded to visitors who were flexible, supportive, and respectful of their family. A positive relationship was found between the number of family services received and ratings of the home visitor on variables of flexibility, support, and control. The majority of families described the home visiting service as the most helpful service they received. In addition, there were no differences in the services provided by professional and paraprofessional visitors, as reported by families. Overall, family reports indicated parent satisfaction with the professional-paraprofessional partnership model, and this model was found to meet the proposed family-centered objectives for early intervention services.

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