title: Providing family support through community guides.
abstract: The Family Support Opportunities program in the state of Washington has a unique component. People with extensive knowledge of local communities, referred to as community guides, were made available to all families enrolled in the program. Community guides assisted families by seeking information about community resources that families needed and helping families connect to those resources. Responses from a survey of 312 families were analyzed to determine the impact of the community guides' services. Results suggest that when families indicated satisfaction with their community guides, they reported better outcomes in terms of their needs being met, satisfaction with Family Support Opportunities, and connections to their local communities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Center for Disability Policy and Research, Department of Health Services, 146 N. Canal St., Suite 313, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98103, USA. edpr@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Lyle T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Romer
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nahom
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aigbe
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D003153:Community Health Services; D003625:Data Collection; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012944:Social Support