ABSTRACT
Family-based programs face a number of challenges. In spite of lingering and important questions regarding the effectiveness of family-based service (FBS), a new wave of family support and family preservation programs is being developed under the Family Preservation and Support Services Program of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. In Los Angeles, networks of community-based agencies are being organized to provide a broad range of family preservation services including child care, housing, transportation, and substance abuse treatment, as well as more traditional in-home counseling and training. Even longstanding FBS programs, such as the state of Washington’s HOMEBUILDERS™, are formulating new structures to extend the traditional four- to six-week service period for certain families in need of longer services. Despite the recent major legislative shifts, there may be opportunities to strengthen the income, housing, medical, and other basic supports that FBS program advocates have said are critical to long-term family functioning.
