Working with Families

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Supported, Competitive, Integrated Employment
Training Team Project Division of Applied
Research and Educational Support Department of
Child Family Studies Louis de la Parte Florida
Mental Health Institute University of South
Florida

• Working with Families

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Contextual Considerations

• As with individuals, there is no one size fits
  all approach to working with families
• Families visions/dreams for their family members
  are influenced by many factors, including
• Past experiences with the system
• Cultural and economic factors
• Information and exposure (or lack thereof)

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What are the issues/concerns
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• Whether the issues/concerns are perceived to be
  actual or artificial they are real to the family
  member(s) and need to be addressed.

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Contextual Considerations, cont.

• Parents often view themselves as protector or
  provider
• Viewpoint typically reinforced by system that
  offers safety and protection as hallmarks of
  segregation
• Challenges of letting go and shifting this
  viewpoint are universal to all parents
• Not a unique phenomena to parents of adult
  children with disabilities

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Reasons for Resistance

• Family member previously tried and failed once,
  twice, three times, etc.)
• Mixed messages are coming from within agency
• Exposure to horror stories from other families
• Concerns about safety/security outside of agency
  walls
• Belief that walls protect people vs. people
  (relationships) protect people
• Concerns voiced by family member (e.g., not
  wanting to leave friends, benefits worries, etc.)

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Reasons for Resistance, cont.

• Conditioned to system-perpetuated,
  low-expectations for family member
• Lack of information about SE, including
• How it works (e.g., how jobs are found chosen,
  how supports are provided, what the rest of the
  day will look like, etc.)
• What happens if issues arise on the job
• What happens if jobs are lost
• How family members economic future/benefits will
  be affected and protected

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Strategies for Converting Families

• Ways to Increase Family Buy-In

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Strategies Person-Centered Planning/Discovery

• Initiate PCP/Discovery process that truly puts
  individual and family members at the center
• Must be active and valued members of team
• Meetings must be scheduled at convenient times
  and locations
• Rationale for meetings must be clear (e.g., how
  these sessions vary from typical ISP meetings
  should be evident)

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Parents are inhibited when they are unclear of
the purpose of the planning process.
Consequently, they are not likely to participate
and either 1) present obstacles to the process
through lack of cooperation or 2) become overly
compliant and accept whatever is recommended.
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Strategies Person-Centered Planning

• In order to address individual concerns, must
  have a process for determining what they are
• Choose/design frames to specifically identify
  this information
• Dreams will vary across individuals families
  (e.g., independence vs. connection to a group)
• Must figure out what keys are for individual and
  family members in order to demonstrate how they
  can be met across different settings

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Strategies Discovery

• Discovery process offers individuals a unique
  opportunity to self-advocate
• No practice or words are necessary
• Including family allows them to learn more about
• What excites their family member
• What it is really like out there
• Takes conversation out of the abstract and begins
  to make it more concrete
• Capitalizes on family connections and networking
• Pulls family in at informational and exploration
  stage vs. yes or no stage

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Strategies Addressing Benefits Concerns

• Educate all agency staff in basics of employment
  income and benefits
• Mixed messages and misinformation are often
  unintentionally perpetuated within agency
• Connect individuals and family members to local
  BPAOs
• Connect individuals/family members to others who
  have joined the workforce
• Understand and work with the reality of families
  in different financial situations

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Strategies Addressing Benefits Concerns, cont.

• Address primary concerns
• Employment income does not automatically mean
  loss of Medicaid
• For SSI recipients, working income SSI should
  always exceed SSI alone
• With careful monitoring and BPAO support, any
  financial changes can be anticipated and
  predicted no surprises expected!!
• Main message benefits can be affected and still
  be protected (until someone no longer wants or
  needs them)

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Strategies Addressing Safety Concerns

• Provide clear, jargon-free explanation of how
  supported employment works
• Jobs are developed based on interests, skills,
  and needs of individual
• Supports are provided to the employee and the
  company
• Manner in which supports will be delivered will
  be determined by employee and company
• Supported employment does not equal dumping
• Connect individuals and families to others who
  have made the transition to work

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Strategies General Recommendations

• Beware of mixed messages same vision must be
  shared throughout agency
• Develop plans for supporting families on an
  individual as well as agency-wide level
• Invite family members to be active part of
  organizational change process
• Institute methods for exchange of information
  between families of new employees to families of
  prospective/future employees

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Strategies General Recommendations

• Accept that level of involvement will vary across
  families
• Design flexible methods of reaching and
  supporting
• Level of active involvement may vary across the
  years, but level of desire for the security and
  happiness of their family member does not
• Practice active listening

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Strategies General Recommendations, cont.

• Understand the effects of the system and its
  limitations
• Many families have seen the pendulum swing both
  ways
• Be prepared to explain why it is different this
  time
• Build momentum wisely
• Dont underestimate the power of self-advocacy
• Much easier to reject the input of a professional
  than the dreams of your family member