This article highlights the evolution of family-centered services in EI/ECSE through which young children with delays and disabilities, birth through age 8, receive services. Multiple factors in the history of family services that have influenced the current emphasis on family-centered practices are recognized, including
- the changes in family characteristics in the United States
- the family movement to advocate for increased and improved services
- philosophical changes related to family engagement, teaming, and inclusion
- evidence-based practices for designing instruction and intervention that reflect a family-centered approach
- EI/ECSE and other professional standards that focus on family-centered practice (author abstract)