VOL 1 - Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice - American ...

Promising Practices in Children’s Mental Health
Systems of Care - 1998 Series
Typically, new Family Resource Developers start out enthusiastically doing all they can for every
family they work with – an exhausting and endless task. Eventually they learn how to provide intensive
support at first (to the level it is needed) and gradually transfer their experience and knowledge to other
families so they can do things for themselves.
Data from the Early Intervention Supplemental Grant indicates that families open their doors
much more readily to a Family Resource Developer than they ever will to a Social Worker or a
Mental Health Worker. As a result, Family Resource Developers have been instrumental in getting
children with substance abuse and mental health issues better health care, crucial family supports,
and interventions (including immunizations, as part of early prevention). They accomplish this by
becoming a liaison between the family and the Health Department.
44
Training
Family resource developers have several different avenues for expanding their knowledge
base and developing their skills. Training for Family Resource Developers is provided by the host
agency and the agency’s clinical director. Occasionally, outside specialists present to the entire staff
of the Initiative on a specific topic such as the wraparound process. The Illinois Federation of
Families provides training focused on the nature of advocacy and what the Federation offers
families, the community, and the state.
The Challenges Of Co-Supervision
Each partner agency defines the criteria and schedule for supervision differently. The Family
Resource Developers receive ongoing supervision from the clinical director of their agency, as well
as their employer – the Illinois Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. Tim Gawron
and Karen Gora call this co-supervision.
Supervision within the host agency where the Family Resource Developer is assigned is
largely focused on the day-to-day issues of developing and implementing individualized service
plans. As a group, the Family Resource Developers convene every other week for supervision by the
Director of the Illinois Federation of Families. This provides peer support and allows them to
brainstorm strategies for accessing nontraditional services for families.
Sometimes, the Family Resource Developer’s position as a Federation employee advocating
for a family comes into conflict with expectations of their host provider agency in the community.
As these conflicts come to light, they are resolved through the process of supervision. Some of these
Volume I: New Roles for Families