NIC has been strengthening the communities by supporting families to achieve their maximum potential through the provision of quality supports and services that meet identified needs for over 30 years. This commitment is carried out in a variety of settings and through a wide range of services where our roles can include direct practice, supervision, administration, teaching, training, consultation, and advocacy. What keeps us united is our philosophy.
Our philosophy is built upon four pillars, which we believe to be the foundation for success in supporting families.
We are Relationship Based.
Our Philosophy arrived after many years of front line service and extensive studies through research and interviews. Almost all of the research and certainly interview information made it clear that in order to impact a family with service, they must participate from the beginning. For this to be successful, a relationship must be developed.
We are Family Driven
Our work with families is much more successful if we are supporting the family or child in moving in a direction that they have, at minimum, had a hand in choosing. These are often broad based goals (ie Get my child home, help them listen to me) but they provide a common focus for our work with the family. It also demonstrates that the family is actually the MOST important participant in the process of change.
We are Needs Focused.
Since the start of social services, all have known that families will have to get their basic needs met before they can have the energy or daring to change. Behaviours are almost always directly related to needs. To address this area of our philosophy, we have created our “Big Seven”.
Safety – No Harm. Physical Safety, Emotional Safety, and Psychological Safety for all Family Members.
Routines – Organization of Life. Meals, Bedtimes, School, Activies, Etc.
Limits – Defined Guidelines. Imposed Boundaries.
Consequences – Results of Actions. Natural, Logical, Positive, Negative.
Nurturing – Supporting Positive Growth. Emotional, Physical, Intellectual, Etc.
Structure – Roles within the Family. Parental, Parent/Teen, Birth Order, Etc.
Community Connectedness – Contacts outside the immediate family. Advocacy, Cultural Awareness, Etc.
This lists areas of focus for us to attempt to understand a family or individual’s needs and to assist in responding to them.
We are Honest and Respectful in our Communication.
This requires training and practice. To truly be honest and respectful is a difficult skill set. We, as service providers, are very concerned about the feelings that are involved in our work. It is a true skill to be able to be honest in a way that doesn’t minimize the information and doesn’t traumatize the recipient. It requires a relationship that allows for us to learn the language of a family so we can be more accurate with our words, both written and verbal.
When used in combination, these pillars enable us to provide a service that the recipient trusts and is actively involved in, while assisting them to move in the direction of a healthier family.