Most children with disabilities live at home with their families. Every family has unique needs, capabilities, and preferences, but families of children with disabilities often find the ordinary challenges faced by typical families can become extraordinary when providing support to a child with disabilities at home. Family support programs make use of structured services and supports, as well as informal or natural supports from friends, neighbors, extended family, or community members. The idea is to provide whatever it takes for families of children with disabilities to live as much like other families as possible. Family support makes a positive difference in the life of the individual with a disability, as well as the lives of all family members.
Family support is family driven, easy to use, and flexible.
In 1995, all but one state Mississippi reported the presence of some type of formal family support program. The current model of services for individuals with disabilities in Mississippi can best be described as a patchwork of programs that have been developed over time, leaving gaps and shortcomings in the system. The dramatic increase in the number of Mississippi families who have children with disabilities requiring lifetime supports has created a vital need for systems change that will shift state policy to a more family-responsive system of services.