Kicking off 'Making it Work!' Month
by Family Councils Ontario
September is ‘Making It Work’ month at FCO! All month long, we'll be discussing effective Family Council operations, goals, and activities to make the most of your work.
It’s important to keep in mind that a Family Council is a special kind of group. It is a group of volunteers who share a common goal and is a group organized in a particular way, with particular characteristics:
- Come together regularly
- Interact with one another
- Share a sense of belonging or purpose
- Have common goals and objectives that include improving the quality of life of all residents in the Long-Term Care Home and giving families a voice in decisions that affect them and their loved ones in the Home
- Have some structure, rules and methods of operation.
To kick off the month, let’s start with an overview of the common organizing elements that are important to all Family Councils. While there are variations on exactly how your Council defines and carries out these elements, they are essential for all Councils.
A Collective Identity Rooted in a Common Focus
Do Council members have a sense of a common identity?
Everyone in a specific Family Council has a loved one who has been living in the same Long-Term Care Home. All members are focused on improving the well-being of their loved ones and supporting each other. This is what brings members together to agree on collective activities and actions. In this way, Family Council members have a collective identity that is rooted in a shared experience and a common focus.
A Mission or Purpose Statement
Does your Council have a written purpose statement that captures this collective identity and common focus? Have members agreed on the statement and set up a system to ensure that they will review it periodically?
Do your goals and activities align well with your mission/purpose statement? Do you use your mission/purpose statement to decide on what goals and activities to pursue?
Common Goals
Have family members agreed on specific actions that they want to take – actions (or projects) that they feel can make a difference in the quality of life for their loved ones, or support families or staff in the Home?
Do your Council members feel that their time on projects and actions is well spent?
Ways to Communicate and Share Information
Do new family members know about the Family Council? Do they know who they can call or contact about upcoming meetings and Council projects? Members can communicate with each other and other families/friends of residents through the Home’s newsletter, a Council newsletter and posted minutes.
Do you communicate openly and regularly with the Home staff and administrator? Do you have a Staff Assistant who helps your Council share information?
Structures and Processes Support Effective Operations
Does your Council have a written Terms of Reference that makes it clear:
- Who can be a Council member
- How long people can be Council members (e.g., whether people can stay involved after their relative in Home moves on or dies)?
- How you make decisions?
- What goals and activities the Council has agreed to pursue?
Do you have a recruitment process and plans that will assure continuity when members leave?
Do your meetings run smoothly, on-time, support the needs of the members, and accomplish what you set out to do?
Do you regularly evaluate your meetings, goals, processes, and activities to ensure that they are useful and appropriate for your group?
Use this month to check to determine if your Council has all of these organizing elements in place. Is your Terms of Reference up to date and appropriate for your group? Do your members agree on the activities and goals for this year? Are your communication processes working to share information with other families, residents and staff? We’ll be talking about all of these issues and more as ‘Making It Work’ month continues!