In-home versus clinic-based services for the developmentally disabled child: who is the primary client--parent or...

This paper analyzes two different approaches to service delivery, in-home and clinic-based, in order to assist planners and clinicians in utilizing the merits of both systems most effectively. The two systems are compared and contrasted along the following variables: team process, identified client, pace of treatment, and degree of coverage. Using these variables as a guideline, this paper proposes that the degree to which the family's priorities are similar or dissimilar to the priorities of the organization determines the degree of effectiveness of home-based or clinic-based services. This proposal is discussed and case histories illustrating this premise are presented.