Individuals seeking to intervene with families without understanding the role of culture run the risk of offending families, missing important informal resources, and assuming that refusal of standard forms of help means that no help is wanted or needed. Assessing how cultural factors and acculturation influence caregiving, formal service use, and future planning among families appears to be fundamental to understanding and planning for services. Given the changing structure and composition of the American family, with more single parent households and females in the workforce, the reliance on the extended family common in many minority families, may not be sufficient. Families will need increased help in providing support to their relative with developmental disabilities and more information on residential services and financial planning so that they can secure a desirable future for their families. A critical aspect for many cultural minority families will be outreach to families not only through the aging or disability networks, but also through churches and other community resources.
Families have unmet needs for supports to maintain caregiving .
Parents have been an undeniable resource for the service systems, and parents who provide a lifelong home for their son or daughter have made major contributions not only to their families but also to society. However, they also have unmet needs for support to help them maintain caregiving as they age. Other studies have found high unmet needs for respite services, case coordination, and transportation. Trends in Family Support Policies Family support is under-financed . Furthermore, many of the family support programs only target families of children.