Developing Individualized Family Support Plans: A Training Manual

This manual, based on Enabling and Empowering Families, provides inservice training coordinators, administrators, supervisors and university personnel with a compact package of functional and practical materials to train professionals about implementing family-centered Individualized Family Support Plans (IFSP's).

This training manual is organized sequentially to build the conceptual framework for family-centered IFSP development. The sections include: Public Law 99-457 and the rationale for IFSP's working with families' needs and aspirations, strengths and capabilities, identifying supports and resources, effective help giving and writing IFSP's. The field-tested activities included give trainees experiences which develop positive attitudes, understandings, and skills needed to work with families who have young children with special needs, specifically during the IFSP process. Also included are a list of competencies, checklists, overhead masters, blank assessment forms and a glossary. Case studies provide concrete samples to aid in learning how to write IFSP's.