CREATING FAMILY-CENTERED SERVICES IN EARLY INTERVENTION - PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONALS IN 4 STATES

This article describes professional perceptions of the current status of family involvement in early intervention programs in four states. Significant discrepancies between current and ideal practices were found in four dimensions: parent involvement in decisions about child assessment, parent participation in assessment, parent participation in the team meeting and decision making, and the provision of family goals and services. In identifying barriers to ideal programs, professionals most frequently mentioned family barriers (35.8%) and system barriers (35.1%). Professional barriers, or those related to a lack of skill, accounted for only 14.8% of the barriers mentioned.