A parent aide program: record keeping, outcomes, and costs

As the use of parent aides grows, it is important that plans for developing and administering the services be carefully drawn to enhance the service. The record-keeping system described here evolved in direct response to program objectives and has helped maintain those objectives. It should be emphasized that although the procedures involved appear time consuming and perhaps troublesome, they play an important part in saving program time overall and making an effective service available to as many clients as possible. When the costs of parent aides are compared with those of other services, the results show that the time-limited, goal-oriented focus of this program allows effective services to be delivered economically.