Service Coordination
in Halton Region
Frequently Asked Questions For Team Members
Q. What is Service Coordination?
A. Service Coordination is a process where families
build a team of support made up of formal supports
(professional services) and natural supports (family
and friends). The team works together to share ideas,
problem solve, and create plans that focus on the
family’s needs and builds on their strengths so that they
can work towards their goals.
Q. What Is My Role as a Service
Coordination Team Member and How
Can I Help?
A. A team member helps the family by bringing
their expertise, experience, and ideas to the table to
assist in brainstorming ideas, in order to develop a
plan to address family needs. Your role as a Service
Coordination team member will most likely not be
anything different than what you are already doing.
If you are a formal support, you might be one of a
number of workers (e.g. social workers, teachers, health
care providers) who are providing support to the family
through their organization.
As a natural support, you may be a grandparent, a
friend, or a neighbour who is already providing support
to the family in your own way. You know the family the
best and have already been helping them through your
friendship or being a part of their family. The great part
about being a natural support is that you can always be
involved in the family and continue to support them even
after the professionals have come and gone.
Q. What happens at a Service
Coordination meeting and how is it
different from other family meetings I’ve
attended?
A. Service Coordination meetings are organized by a
service coordinator. The service coordinator welcomes
everyone to the meeting and does introductions. Formal
and natural supports share information about their role
and how they assist the family.
The family talks about what’s going well in their lives,
what’s not going well, and what is important to them.
The family chooses goals that they want to work on.
Together, the team brain storms to develop a Family
Service Plan (FSP). The FSP is an action plan that
describes who will do what, when, and where. It also
identifies when the next meeting will take place.
Service Coordination meetings might be different from
other meetings because it is the family who takes the
lead in the process. The family decides which goals to
focus on and chooses which strategies are best for them.
During Service Coordination, team members share
resources and work together on activities so that they
have a better understanding of one another’s work.
This helps to get rid of overlap and confusion about
roles. Finally, the process gives team members a better
understanding of what’s going on in the family’s life.
Service Coordination
in Halton Region
Frequently Asked Questions For Team Members
Q. What is the role of the Service
Coordinator?
Q. What if I can’t make it to a meeting?
A. The Service Coordinator plans and coordinates
they should let the service coordinator and the family
know. Team members often have other responsibilities
but can continue to support the family outside of the
meetings. Team members can still be part of the team
through email and/or phone. They can talk with the
service coordinator and other team members if they have
any strategies to share.
services together with the family and other service and
support team members. The Service Coordinator role
could be taken on by any member of the “family team”
(including the family). Initially, however, the ongoing
service coordinator may be the service provider who:
• is a paid professional and trained to provide service
coordination
• may have the longest ongoing involvement with the
family
• the family identifies
The Service Coordinator organizes the Service
Coordination meetings and coordinates the services and
supports making up the family team. With the family,
they review or check the progress of the Family Service
Plan.
Q. How often does the Team meet, for
how long, when and where?
A. The team meets as often as the family needs.
In the
beginning, this can be every two to three weeks and later
every two to three months. It all depends on the family’s
situation or their level of need. Service Coordination
meetings take place at times that are flexible – whenever
the family and team members are available. Meetings
usually last an hour to an hour and a half. The team
meets wherever is convenient for the family - in the
family’s home, in an agency meeting room, or out in the
community.
A. When a team member can’t make it to the meetings,
Team members are given a list of team member contact
information. Team members can also keep up to date
through the Family Service Plan that is sent to them after
the meeting.
Q. How do I know when my support is
no longer needed?
A. Service Coordination closes when families complete
their goals or are able to work towards goals on their
own. Sometimes families choose not to be involved in
Service Coordination.
When Service Coordination is coming to a close, the
family team participates in a final service coordination
meeting to celebrate successes and explore family needs
that might come up after close of Service Coordination.