Family Journey Mapping for Early Intervention

Because we work with communities and families, it is imperative to understand what people are going through. System builders and service providers need to get into the shoes of the families they serve. This has been a guiding principle of VIVA’s work with Help Me Grow LA Pathways, funded by First 5 LA. VIVA is the technical assistance provider and evaluation lead for the Pathways project, supporting several partner agencies who are working to strengthen early intervention referral pathways in their local communities. The technical assistance VIVA provides spans disciplines, but includes a focus on helping these partners better understand and meet the needs of the families who are in need of early identification and intervention services.

Family Journey Mapping is a tool for helping to understand families’ experiences navigating systems. With Family Journey Maps, we can center the experiences of families and consider changes that are directly motivated by user experience. VIVA created a process and tools to equip our partners to engage families and conduct their own family journey mapping processes in order to identify barriers and guide their Help Me Grow Pathways work. VIVA then provided additional technical assistance and graphic design support, to create visually appealing maps that can serve as tools for these partners over the course of their work.