Family Service Workers and Home Visitors are the first point of contact for our families. Establishing a good working relationship with each family is the foundation for effective work with families. Have a good working relationship with each family is key in a successful goal setting process. As staff invite each family to participate in the goal setting process, having a partnership in place with each family is essential.

We believe that individualized Family Partnership Agreements are living documents and must be reflective of the people involved in setting the goals. It is important that Family Partnership Agreements are intentional, purposeful and based on the strengths and needs of each family. Family Partnership Agreements are about the relationship with the family – not the form it is written on.

This highly interactive training is an opportunity for your Family Service Workers and Home Visitors to learn new strategies as it pertains to effective goal setting with families – and practice those skills during the training.

This practice-based training will address how to set realistic, meaningful and measurable goals as well as create individualized Family Partnership Agreements. The training includes addressing topics such as:

• Build the relationship first. Engage and build connection with families by allowing adequate time for conversation and listening with an open mind. Hearing what families are saying is vital. It is important that staff spend time getting to know each family member as an individual and work to establish a comfort level with each one. This time allows staff to discover what the family is all about and what is important to them. The key is to begin this relationship at application and enrollment, building it consistently and authentically.

• Initiate “rich” conversations with families. This training teaches the participants the stages of a helping relationship. Initiate “rich” conversations with families that get to the heart of where families are and where they want to be. This includes the family’s own timeline for goals and needs. Create a safe environment for parents to share their strengths and open up about areas of challenge. Know what questions to ask families in order to gain critical information to set goals.

• Create goals that are specific, realistic and measurable. We believe that Family Partnership Agreements are not just something to complete in order to check it off of your to-do list. Family Partnership Agreements are living documents that must be intentional and individualized for each family. As this process is often something that is uncomfortable for staff, this training includes suggested language to use when setting goals with families as well as a hands-on demonstration of the process. Staff should work in partnership with parents to create goals that are realistic and measurable – and broken down into specific steps that can be attained.

Work with parents to set them up for success throughout the goal setting process. Recognize parents’ role as their child’s first and most important teacher.

Are you looking for on-site, custom designed training on “Creating Realistic, Specific and Measurable Goals with Families”? Give us a call at (704) 451-3255 or email us at kristinecortina@hsessentials.com.