How to Start a Family Council
The model for success starts with families talking about family councils with everybody-other families, residents, ombudsmen, people in your community, nursing home staff, the nursing home administrator, etc. Ask these people how they think a family group could help the facility.
Step One:
Find family and facility interested in a family council. Introduce families to the idea. Encourage families to participate.
- Approach family members that are already active in the facility about helping you form a family council. Tell them about the Illinois Citizens for Better Care website.
- Contact ICBC or your local ombudsman for technical support and advice.
Step Two:
Talk to staff about forming a family council. Follow up on your meeting.
- Talk to the administrator about starting a family council. Identify and address any concerns about a family council. Ask for the administrator's support in contacting families.
- With the administrator, identify who the council's staff liaison will be. (Usually, it's the social services or activity director.)
- Establish a date for a family meeting. Work with staff to have it in a room that can be closed off. Ask staff when they see the most visitors. This may be the best time for people to come.
- Work with the facility to develop flyers about family council information and meeting schedules.
- Ask the facility to mail an invitation to all families, either a separate mailing or included with the billing.
- Verify that the administration has done what they said. Have notices been posted? Were the letters received?
- Contact ICBC or your local ombudsman for technical support and advice.
Step Three:
Have an informational meeting where all families and friends of residents are invited.
- At the meeting the organizer of the family council tells the families about their rights to such a family council group.
- Explain that a family council is independent, what is does, and why it's important.
- Decide if there is enough interest to form a family council. Two or three dynamic individuals are a great start!
- Agree upon a regular scheduled time to meet.
- Contact ICBC or your local ombudsman for technical support and advice.
Step Four:
Follow up on your information meeting. Hold a family council meeting.
- Post the next meeting time. Personally contact family members.
- Plan the first meeting.
- Identify 1 or 2 facility-wide concerns. Develop strategies and action plans to address them.
- Contact ICBC or your local ombudsman for technical support.
Step Five:
Maintain the family council.
- Have regular meetings.
- Keep up interest and publicity.
- Continue networking - Have face to face meetings with all families.
- Attend a staff meeting. Talk to staff about the benefits of a family council, and how they can support it. Ask them to encourage family members to participate.
- Talk to the resident council about why a family council is important. Ask them for names of family members that you could contact.
- Meet regularly with ICBC or your local ombudsman for technical support and to identify valuable resources.