WHAT IS A FAMILY TEAM MEETING?
Family Team Meeting is a gathering of family members, friends, community resource representatives, and other interested people who join together to strengthen a family, brainstorm ideas to assist the family in reaching goals, and to develop a plan of action with the family. A Facilitator will meet with you to talk more about the Family Team Meeting & help you set it up.
WHO IS INVITED TO THE FAMILY TEAM MEETING?
You get to decide who you would like to have invited to your Family Team Meeting. We encourage you to invite family members, friends & others from your neighborhood, community or church that you can count on for support. You may want to invite Family Support Workers, counselors, teachers or others involved with your family as service providers, people you may not work with now but may be able to help you on working toward your goals or who can provide you with information, services or resources. There may be people who must be invited because of legal reasons & are necessary to have input from if you are involved with them, such as, Iowa Department of Human Services Child Protective Workers and/or Social Workers, Department of Correctional Services Probation or Parole Officers or other staff. Also present will be the Facilitator (whom you met before that helped you set up the meeting) & a co-facilitator who will help the Family Team Meeting flow, make sure people stay focused on your goals & writes information about what the team talks about & decides.
WHO WILL INVITE THESE PEOPLE?
The Facilitator will contact people you have invited to be part of your team. You may also help make calls if you want & let them know they are invited to your meeting. WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE FAMILY TEAM MEETING? Everyone will introduce themselves to each other. The Facilitator will go over “ground rules” such as be respectful, one person speaks at a time, it is okay to disagree, etc. You may make suggestions for other rules you think the team needs to follow at your meeting. You will have the opportunity to share your story (what has been going on, what brought you here today, etc.). You may share as little or as much as you would like. This can be used as an opportunity for you to help others understand your situation & give them a bigger picture of what’s going on with you & your family. Everyone in the group will help list you & your family’s strengths that will assist you in reaching your goals. You & the team will list the needs & concerns you & your family has in order to meet your goals. Everyone will help list resources & steps that may help meet your goals at the same time addressing the needs & concerns you & the team has listed. Using the lists made, a plan that everyone agrees on is written out, the plan will show who will do what & when they will do it in order for you & your family to accomplish your goals.