1. A belief and sense of commitment toward promoting the well-being and growth of individual family members as well as that of the family unit.

2. Appreciation for the small and large things that individual family members do well and encouragement to do better.

3. Concentrated effort to spend time and do things together, no matter how formal or informal the activity or event.

4. A sense of purpose that permeates the reasons and basis for "going on" in both bad and good times.

5. A sense of congruence among family members regarding the value and importance of assigning time and energy to meet needs.

6. The ability to communicate with one another in a way that emphasizes positive interactions.

7. A clear set of family rules, values, and beliefs that establishes expectations about acceptable and desired behavior.

8. A varied repertoire of coping strategies that promote positive functioning in dealing with both normative and non-normative life events.

9. The ability to engage in problem-solving activities designed to evaluate options for meeting needs and procuring resources.

10. The ability to be positive and see the positive in almost all aspects of their lives, including the ability to see crisis and problems as an opportunity to learn and grow.

11. Flexibility and adaptability in the roles necessary to procure resources to meet needs.

12. A balance between the use of internal and external family resources for coping and adapting to life events and planning for the future.

Adapted From:
Enabling And Empowering Families: Principles and Guidelines For Practice,
Dunst, Trivette and Deal (1988).

For more information, please call: Darlyne Haertlein, Community Relations Supervisor
at (414) 297-7518.