Community as context
for Family Support
Although it is just one element of a Family Support principle,
community is a fundamental component in the context of
delivering Family Support services. Community contexts provide
a set of risk and protective factors that have an influence on the
wellbeing of community members (Chaskin, 2008). From a Family
Support perspective, McKeown (2000) notes how a community
development focus addresses the contextual factors that impinge
on, and often exacerbate, the problems of vulnerable families.
Building on this viewpoint, Gilligan (2000) points out that Family
Support is about mobilising support “in all the contexts in which
children live their lives” and “counteracting the corrosive potential
of poverty and other harm that can befall children in disadvantaged
communities” (p.13).
Community development is about building
communities through collective strategies
on common issues. As a field of practice,
Family Support has, for the most part, been
characterised by the development and
delivery of a diverse set of services, by a broad
range of practitioners and organisations in
local communities. Such service provision
is intended to be flexible, responsive and
interactive (Chaskin, 2006; Families Matter,
2009). A key assumption in this orientation is
the importance of community in the lives of
families.
In describing the relationship between Family
Support and the community, Weiss (1987)
noted: “in addition to working with the family
the programmes now increasingly recognise
the importance of creating and reinforcing
links between families and external sources of
support, both formal (local social and health
services) and informal (opportunities to meet
neighbours and utilization of natural helpers
in programmes)” (p.139). This reflects the fact
that Family Support programmes emphasise
the identification of need, locate informal
and formal community based resources for
meeting those needs, and assist families in
using existing capabilities, as well as learning
new skills necessary for mobilising community
based resources. Family Support programmes
employ practices that intentionally lead
to programmes being assimilated into the
“community life” of the families served by
these programmes (Families Matter, 2009).