How Responsive Is Early Intervention to the Priorities and Needs of Families?

This study assessed the type and scope of services provided to families participating in early intervention programs and examined whether early intervention services were responsive to families' concerns. From 63 programs, 357 mothers responded to a printed questionnaire. Results indicated that...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Topics in early childhood special education 1996-10, Vol.16 (4), p.437-457
Main Authors: Mahoney, Gerald, Filer, Janet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Center Based Programs
Delivery Systems
Disabilities
Early Intervention
Early intervention programmes
Families
Family Characteristics
Family Needs
Home Programs
Human Services
Information Services
Mothers
Needs Assessment
Parent Education
Participant Satisfaction
Preschool Education
Program Effectiveness
Responses
Special needs young children
USA
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study assessed the type and scope of services provided to families participating in early intervention programs and examined whether early intervention services were responsive to families' concerns. From 63 programs, 357 mothers responded to a printed questionnaire. Results indicated that (a) early intervention programs provided significantly higher levels of family services related to child information, family instructional activities, and systems engagement as compared to personal/family and resource assistance; (b) services were rated more favorably in home-based programs and center-based programs with home-based components than in programs with only center-based services; (c) the services families reported receiving were positively correlated with their ratings of the desirability of services; (d) families' needs for services were significantly higher than the level of services they reported currently receiving; and (e) the types of services families received depended in part on the location in which they resided. No significant relationships were found between characteristics of children and the types of services families received. However, the pattern of relationships between family characteristics and family services suggested that families with optimal patterns of family functioning were more likely to receive services than were families with indicators of risk or dysfunction.
ISSN:0271-1214
1538-4845
DOI:10.1177/027112149601600405