Parenting Support
Achieva's Parenting Support program provides instruction, assistance, and independent living skills to parents with disabilities. Using a hand-over-hand model, parenting education staff guide families towards achieving parenting and independent living goals. The program is 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Staff members are available by phone and in-person anytime, for any reason.
The parenting education program's mission is to develop safe and appropriate families. This endeavor often requires assistance from multiple agencies. The program's priority will always be the health and safety of the children. At the same time, second is the rights and responsibilities of the parent who has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability.
The Parenting Support program's family and community staff employ various methods to assess and assist a family in achieving their goals. The parenting education program works toward goals created by other agencies, such as individual support plans, individualized education plans, individual family support plans, and family support plans. Goals are worked on during home visits with the family. The length and frequency of the visits are based on the needs assessment, the program staff's recommendations, parents' requests and service plan recommendations. Home visits consist of a period of time when a family and community staff person works with a parent on a skill relative to independent living, parenting or other specified goals.
Visits can take place in the home, a doctor's office, school, childcare settings, library or anywhere else that is appropriate. A child does not need to be present for a home visit, but staff visit with the children at least one time per week. Typically, parents have two - five visits per week.
Achieva has conducted both national and international consultation to teach other agencies how to replicate the parenting education program.
