1. FDC has been developed under a partnership between the New York State Department of State, Division of Community Services and Cornell

 University’s College of Human Ecology.

 

2. The FD Training and Credentialing Program (FDC) is a major New York State interagency initiative that provides training to support individuals 

 and families to attain a healthy self reliance and interdependence with their communities.

 

3.FDC encourages the Family Development workers to enhance their personal and professional growth through the use of strength-based skills 

with customers, co-workers and in their personal life.

4.FDC class is a supportive, interactive learning environment, with one-to-one mentoring by a Portfolio Advisor.

5.Family Development Workers produce a portfolio documenting their knowledge and skills.

6.Upon completion of a portfolio and passing a standardized exam, workers earn a NYS FDC credential from Cornell University.

Return to top

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Core Principles of Family Development

    1. All people, and all families, have strengths.

    2. All families need and deserve support. How much and what kind of support varies throughout life.

    3.  Most successful families are not dependent on long-term public support. They maintain a healthy
         interdependence with extended family, friends, other people, spiritual organizations, cultural and
         community groups, schools and agencies, and the natural environment.

    4. Diversity (race, ethnicity, gender, class, family form, religion, physical and mental ability, age,
        sexual orientation) is an important reality in our society, and is valuable. Family workers need
        to understand oppression in order to learn to work skillfully with families from all cultures.

    5. The deficit approach, which requires families to show what is wrong in order to receive
        services, is counterproductive to helping families move toward self-reliance.

    6. Changing from the deficit model to the family development approach requires a whole new way
        of thinking, not simply more new programs. Individual workers cannot make this shift without
        corresponding policy changes at agency, state, and federal levels.

    7. Families need coordinated services in which all the agencies they work with use a similar
        approach. Collaboration at the local, state, and federal levels is crucial to effective family
        development.

    8. Families and family development workers are equally important partners in this process, with each
       contributing important knowledge. Workers learn as much as the families in the process.

    9. Families must choose their own goals and methods of achieving them. Family development workers'
        roles include helping families set reachable goals for their own self-reliance, providing access to
        services needed to reach these goals, and offering encouragement.

    10. Services are provided so families can reach their goals, and are not themselves a measure of
          of success. New methods of evaluating agency effectiveness are needed to measure family
          and community out-comes, not just the number of services provided.

    11. For families to move out of dependency, helping systems must shift from a "power over" to
          a "shared power" paradigm. Human service workers have power (which they may not
          recognize) because they decide who gets valued resources. Workers can use that power to
          work with families rather than use power over them.

Return to top

________________________________________________________________________________

 What Happens in Family Development?

1.      Customer develops a partnership with a family development worker.

2.      A family development worker helps the customer assess their goals and strengths.

3.      The customer sets its own major goals and smaller goals working toward the major goal.

4.      The family development worker helps the customer make a written plan for pursuing goals.  Accomplishments are celebrated and the plan is continually updated.

5.      The customer learns and practices skills needed to become self-reliant.

6.      The customer uses services as stepping-stones to reach their goals.

7.      The family development process strengthens the customer so they are better able to handle future challenges.

Return to top

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Curriculum Topics

1.      Family Development:  A sustainable Route to Healthy Self Reliance

2.      Worker Self-Empowerment

3.      Building Mutually Respectful Relations with Families, co-workers, & supervisors.

4.      Communicating with Skill and Heart

5.      Cultural Diversity

6.      Ongoing Assessment

7.      Home Visiting

8.      Accessing Specialized Services

9.      .  Facilitating Family Conferences, Support Groups and Community Meetings

10.                                Collaboration

Return to top

 __________________________________________________________________________________________

  ·       mutually respectful partnerships

·       recognize strengths in yourself & the customer

·       be eligible to earn college credit

·       develop life skills that help reduce stress and promote a sense of well-being

·       feel motivated and validated

·       class offered by community-based trainers

·       network and collaborate with other agencies & schools

 

For More Information about Family Development Credential Training

 

Call or email
Valerie Emery

(607) 734-6174 ext 290
or
vemery@cseop.org