Product Description:
As early as 1995, family as a discipline has had a role in some LEND programs; however, it was limited to a few sites. The family role as a professional discipline has challenges not experienced by more traditional disciplines, such as:
-We do not have a dedicated university course of study.
-There is no licensure or accreditation to signify competence.
-Some professionals lack the knowledge on how to work with family members as equal members of a professional team.
-There is not an accepted, universal role for families within LENDs.
-There is not an established mechanism for funding professional services provided by trained family members, for example in the area of Family Support activities. Despite these challenges, MCHB, AUCD and individual LEND programs consider the family component a vital aspect of LEND training. In 2004, in preparation for the AUCD/MCHB LEND 2005 Discipline of the Year meeting which featured Family as a LEND Discipline, the Family Discipline Planning Group developed a survey that identified the various ways that families participate in LENDs as faculty and trainees. At that time, the majority of LEND grant programs had at least a part-time Family Faculty, but only 13 LEND programs included family members as trainees. LENDs were surveyed again in 2007, focusing specifically on the implementation of family discipline traineeships. Between 2004 and 2007 LENDs including family members as trainees increased from 45% to 59%. Since the initial meetings in 2005, the LEND Family Discipline Faculty Workgroup has met to identify and address issues unique to family inclusion within LEND. The goal of the workgroup is to support the successful integration and growth of family components into LEND programs. Workgroup members have provided consultation and mentorship to new faculty and to LENDs adding Family as a disciplinary component to their LEND programs. The workgroup has also produced technical assistance information, including "Promising Practices in Family Mentorship", "LEND Family Discipline Competencie", and "Partnering with Professionals: Family-Centered Care from the Family Perspective", an article appearing in the 2010 Journal of Family Social Work
