Infusing Family-Centered Practices into Agency Administration. Project Ta-kos

This self-study manual for program administrators serving young special needs children and their families gives an overview of agency administration from the perspective of a family-centered approach. The areas of agency administration include: (1) family-centered philosophy and sound management practices; (2) governance; (3) mission; (4) development; (5) operations; (6) policy and personnel; (7) job descriptions and staff development; (8) program evaluation; and (9) community relationships. The manual contains self-evaluation forms for assessing how holistic the program's management practices are, where families fit in the program's governance structure, how the mission statement reflects family-centered principles, how development activities support the agency's philosophy, how agency operations demonstrate family-centered principles, how personnel policies are family-centered, how staff are identified and supported, where data are obtained on how well the program works for families, and what the program's community relationships are. (JDD)