The Center for Family Support history

In the early 1970’s Pennsylvania developed one of the earliest state-funded family support initiatives for children with intellectual disabilities.

Family Support Center began in 1977 through a collaboration between the Junior League of Salt Lake City and the Utah Association for Children's Therapy (U-ACT). The founding project was the Crisis Nursery located in Sugar House.

1978: The organization began as the National Clearinghouse on Home-Based Services under sponsorship by the Institute of Child Behavior and Development, the University of Iowa School of Social Work and Families Inc. of West Branch, Iowa.

1979: The National Clearinghouse published its first Prevention Report, a biannual newsletter disseminated to researchers and practitioners across the country.

1981: The National Clearinghouse received a grant from the Children’s Bureau to conduct research, disseminate information and provide training and consultation on preventive services to states.

Beginning in 1986 the reauthorization language was amended to recognize and mandate the role of parents and family members in the provision of services and policies for those with developmental disabilities.

State governments establishing policies and programs to support and strengthen families of young children (Weiss, 1989) represent the next wave of the family support movement.

In the later part of the 1990’s, The Center for Family Support began to develop residential alternatives for special populations.

1994: As child welfare policy added family support to the exiting focus on family preservation, NRCFBS became the National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice (NRCFCP), partnering with the National Indian Child Welfare Association and the Family Resource Coalition.

1996: Publication of federally funded research study on Length of Services & Cost-Effectiveness in Three Intensive Family Service Programs.

1998: The NRC published the “Automated Assessment of Family Progress”, a strengths-based outcome indicators and case management tool which contributed to the Family Development Matrix and Life Skills Progression.

In 2000 the DD Act was again reauthorized, this time it wasn’t just the role of families but the concept of family support overall that was elevated within the Act as Title II: Family Support.

2002: The Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Resource Center began at the NRC to provide research, evaluation and technical assistance on disproportionality in juvenile justice.

2003: The NRC received a five-year grant for Improving Recruitment and Retention in Public Child Welfare, developing a training program for public child welfare supervisors.

2006: The Iowa Center for Evaluation Research (ICER) moved to the NRC from the University of Iowa College of Public Health and expanded its evaluation efforts to community and behavioral health topics.

2011: The NRC began research and training initiatives for early childhood home visitation programs, with findings used to understand and develop supervisor training for home visitors and to conduct workforce research.