Matching Children and Support Families
Every child has unique needs. Every Support Family has unique capacities. The challenge is finding the right match between the needs of a particular child and the capacities and circumstances of a particular Support Family, then putting together the right combination of in-home supports and services needed for that child and Support Family to thrive.
Successful matching includes a variety of tasks that a provider agency or other responsible entity must coordinate:
- Gathering and comparing information about a child and potential Support Families to discover promising “leads”
- Arranging initial meetings between the child’s parents/guardian, potential Support Family and the child
- Arranging multiple pre-placement visits of sufficient length and frequency to allow the child and chosen Support Family to get to know one another
- Determining the specific in-home services and supports that are needed for a successful placement of a particular child in a particular Support Family’s home
- Determining parent or guardian agreement with the match
Taking the time to find the right match contributes to successful, long-term placements of children with Support Families. Placing children too quickly or without sufficient attention to a “good fit” places children and families at risk, and increases the chance of crises or failures.
