The authors present guidelines for social work practice in the growing, interdisciplinary field of family-support programs. The history and contemporary form of family-support programs are described, and a “best practice” approach is delineated. Emergent areas are discussed, and the salience of social work's contribution in family-support programs is identified. Innovative aspects of the family-support approach include family-building and family-strengthening activities, an educational framework for intervention, the mediating function of family support, and multilevel approaches to developing community.
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