Vol. 1, No. 4
Summer 1996

Family Preservation Services (FPS) Beliefs

• Safety of the child is the first concern. The first task of the FPS worker is to stabilize the crisis that places the child at imminent risk of placement, in order to ensure the child's safety.

• Children have a right to their family. FPS exists to protect this right--out-of-home placement is a last resort.

• The family is the fundamental resource for the nurturing of children. FPS Programs work to keep families together.

• Families are diverse and have the right to be respected for their special cultural, racial, ethnic, and religious traditions. Children can flourish in different types of families. A lack of cultural competency has made families of color especially vulnerable.

• A crisis is an opportunity for change.

• Inappropriate intervention can do harm. FPS providers must be extremely careful due to the circumstances and intensity of their involvement with families.

• Families who seem hopeless can grow and change. Crisis is an opportunity for positive change.

• Family members are our colleagues. We must form effective partnerships in order to accomplish common goals. We can't do it without harm.

• It is our job to instill hope. It's easy to understand why families eligible for FPS may feel hopeless. If we can instill hope, we have built the foundation for change.

N.C. Department of Human Resources. (1992). North Carolina families, family preservation services policies and standards. Raleigh, N.C.: Family Preservation Services Program, N.C. Department of Human Resourses.