Our Values
We believe that every child is unique, with his or her own strengths, and that all children have the potential to learn.
Our program is committed to working together with family members to identify their child’s strengths and needs and build upon skills and competencies in a positive and supportive manner.
The systematic application of behavioural principals in combination with ongoing monitoring and evaluation enables us to cater our supports to best fit each individual child and family.
In collaboration with families we identify priorities for intervention and work towards an improved quality of life for the family unit as a whole. Our mission is to make meaningful differences in the lives of children with ASD or behavioural issues and their families
Disclaimer: Photos of children are either of former clients, current clients or have never been clients of Family Centred Practices Group. Client photos should not be reused and are used on this website with informed consent of the parent and/or legal guardian.
Quality Assurance
At FCPG, we are committed to improving the lives of children and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other related disabilities through the provision of specialized clinical services and highly individualized programs that support each individual’s unique strengths and needs and help each child to reach their full potential. We value opportunities to work with and support our clients and their families and collaborate with our community partners to achieve these principles in our practice.
There are a number of ongoing factors that we have in place to ensure we are achieving the provision of high quality ABA services to the children and families we support. These include: supporting families to navigate the Autism funding process, avoiding wait lists for the initiation of services, staff qualifications, and quality assurance.
Supporting Families to Navigate the Autism Funding Process
Children who receive a diagnosis in the province of BC are eligible for funding through the Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD). The Clinical Director, Behaviour Consultants and Administrative Coordinators support and assist families to navigate the process and procedures to gain access to and allocate funding. We encourage families independence with managing the funding that they have access to, but support families with paperwork, contact with the Autism Funding Unit, and online access and management tools (i.e., the My Family Services Portal) related to their funding.
Avoiding Wait Lists for the Initiation of Services
FCPG has never held a waitlist for our services. It is a priority to provide services to children and families who want to access our services and we monitor the capacity and caseload of our clinicians to create availability for new clients.
Staff Qualifications
The consulting staff at FCPG exemplifies depth of clinical experience, competence, and expertise in program delivery. The Behaviour Consultants are specialized professionals in Autism and other developmental disorders and hold various levels of academic training. This includes graduate level academic training at the Masters level. Further to this, staff at FCPG have presented at various national and international conferences and constantly advance their own professional development in the field. Our staff are highly qualified and we ensure that organization, administrative, programming, and teaching supports are in place to deliver quality service and that the continuous improvement of service is happening.
Core Clinical Staff (Behaviour Consultants) at FCPG have met the MCFD requirements to be on the Registery of Autism Service Providers (RASP). Families are directed to this registry when they receive funding and for children who are under 6 years old, their service provider must be on this registry for the family to allocate MCFD funding for services. There are minimum requirements for professionals (i.e., Behaviour Consultants) to be on the RASP which include: educational requirements; duration of clinical experience in the field; and number of children at various ages for which clinical experience spans. FCPG also continues to employ Board Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBAs) and Board Certified Assistant Behaviour Analysts within our agency with more staff completing the required coursework and collecting supervision and experience hours needed for certification.
FCPG is the first Behavioral Health Centre of Excellence (BHCOE) in Canada. One key component of this evaluation process is to ensure there is high level staff qualifications and training. This is important to note because this a 3rd party accreditation board that has specific evaluation criteria and has determined that FCPG is a BHCOE. There are other key components of this evaluation that demonstrate that FCPG provides high quality service to the children and families we support.
Quality Assurance
At FCPG, quality assurance and accountability checks are comprehensive and include processes that are internal (i.e., part of FCPG’s policies and procedures) and external (BHCOE Accreditation). Some internal processes that we have in place to monitor quality assurance include: clearly defined standards of practice across all client tasks and activities, regular reviews of key performance indicators, standardized training and evaluation systems, agency evaluation and outcome measurement tools. FCPG has clear policies and procedures in place and these are communicated to families at the onset of services. The Senior Behaviour Consultants at FCPG work as quality assurance managers for the clients and supervisees they support and provide ongoing monitoring that all of the standards of practice are being followed. In addition, the Clinical Supervisors and the Clinical Director assure quality by confirming standards of practice are adhered to. If caregivers or staff have questions or concerns regarding quality assurance they are directed to contact the Clinical Director, Tina Linton ([email protected]). All of the policies and procedures followed by the Family Centred Practices Group help the children and families we are supporting obtain the best possible outcomes.
FCPG provides a service model based on the principles of ABA intervention and recommends that families receive the intensity of service that is aligned with what research has recommended in terms of best practice. The limited funding that is available for families for a child diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder makes it difficult for some families to increase the intensity of the intervention services they are receiving. We continue to work collaboratively with families and other professionals to identify priorities for intervention and design a program for the specific children we are supporting that is high individualized and responsive to the child’s needs.
We support children and families from all areas across the lower mainland. Our clients are both under the age of 6 and over the age of 6 and represent different ethnicities, languages, and socioeconomic statuses. We have worked hard to create services and supports that help to meet the diverse and unique needs of the various children and families we support in our program. We will continue to demonstrate dedication to strengthening our relationships with members of government and community partners, and work together with the children and families we support to provide the highest standards of quality services across all of our clients and other people living with Autism Spectrum Disorders or related disabilities.
Diversity and Inclusion
At Family Centred Practices Group (FCPG), we have always worked hard to ensure there is an inclusive environment across all levels of the organization in an effort to promote a culture that is safe and supportive for everyone. We embed cultural awareness, sensitivity and understanding into our training of staff, the information and resources we share with others, and the services that we provide the children and families we support. As a top-performing organization in the field of applied behaviour analysis, we are committed to continuing to be a leader in creating policies that are non-discriminatory, trainings that are diverse and inclusive and a culture that accepts and celebrates the unique differences and perspectives that each team member brings. Providing high-quality services, training, and support to our diverse workforce and client base will continue to be our top priority. All of us at FCPG will continue to strive to work collaboratively with everyone involved with the organization, the children and families we support and the community at large. We are dedicated to advocating and standing up for what is right and we will not tolerate discrimination, inequality, or prejudice.
FCPG is focused on continuing to become a trauma-informed organization. Through our ongoing professional development and training provided to our staff, we support families and ensure our policies, procedures, and practices are aligned with trauma-informed care.
At FCPG, we are aware and acknowledge that caregivers and individuals with autism may have different preferences related to the language used. That is, whether person-first (e.g., individual with autism) or identity-first (e.g., autistic individual) language is used. Regardless of language used in FCPG’s intake, onboarding, and training materials etc., all caregivers (and clients, whenever possible) we support will be asked about their individual preferences at intake and these preferences will be reflected in our support with each family.
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