Voices From the Field: A Blueprint for Schools to Increase the Involvement of Families who have Children with Emotional Disturbances

This document describes how the school and mental health systems can increase the involvement of parents in developing and assisting with services for their children with serious emotional disturbances. The blueprint provides a context for the staff of the education system to understand the variability and complexity of family functioning when a child exhibits emotional disturbances and a rationale for the need to provide skill building and a supportive climate for their families to be effective decision-making partners. There also is guidance for families and school staff to implement effective parent involvement activities and benchmarks to determine progress to achieving positive levels of parent involvement.