Working with families as part of early childhood intervention services : family-centred practice in an individualised funding landscape

The introduction of an individualised funding model is designed to give parents/carers of children with disabilities more choice and control over the types of services and supports that best meet their needs. But if the burden is on families to choose well, the burden is equally on professionals to support and build their capacity to do that. Perhaps now more than ever, service providers will be expected to furnish families with information, supports and other resources that enable families to make better informed and financially prudent decisions. Fundamental to this aspiration remains the understanding that early childhood intervention is not child focused: it is about the child and their family. Failure to act upon this knowledge will not lead to the best outcomes for the child, the family or the community. The new landscape of individual funding provides a new context, but not a new endeavour.