Providing family support through community guides.

The Family Support Opportunities program in the state of Washington has a unique component. People with extensive knowledge of local communities, referred to as community guides, were made available to all families enrolled in the program. Community guides assisted families by seeking information about community resources that families needed and helping families connect to those resources. Responses from a survey of 312 families were analyzed to determine the impact of the community guides' services. Results suggest that when families indicated satisfaction with their community guides, they reported better outcomes in terms of their needs being met, satisfaction with Family Support Opportunities, and connections to their local communities.