How do you get feedback on policies from families

JulieJ

We share our policies with families but we don't get any response from them. I would like to know if anyone has been able to get families involved in reviewing their service policies? What ideas have you come up with and implemented?

Mel

In one organisation I worked in we had a "Family Consultative Group" or FCG. They were a small group of interested families who would meet to discuss our policies, and program, and offer other insights etc . We were a Council run service, so they were not a family committee that could make decisions, but we did consult with them and took their feedback into consideration before making any decisions.
It was sometimes hard to get the group together face-to-face. Nowadays I guess you could do the same with an online forum.

Another way is to hold a " Feed for Feedback " evening - you provide the dinner and they provide the feedback in a group conversation

TheDesktop

Mel I love the "Feed for Feedback Idea" Genius 💡

TheDesktop

Hi Julie,

When I was a Nominated supervisor I also had the exact same problem as you!

A few things I tried to encourage feedback and get family input:

Family committee- They reviewed policies as well as our QIP and RAP
Email a handful of families every month (the families would rotate/change) and ask them directly for feedback. I found this worked the best instead of being general and posting it on our software platform this was a lot more personal.
Have a designated area within our foyer with the latest policy review/update with pen and paper for parents to read and write on.

From this I found some Families struggled with information overload and also struggled to understand or have knowledge of our law and regs so I peeled it back and began with yes or no questions. Here is an example of seeking feedback on our program.