- Families are the basic units of society; therefore, healthy individuals within healthy families are at the core of a healthy society.
- Diversity of family life is valued through different types of family structures; ethnic, cultural, racial and religious backgrounds; and different patterns and rates of developmental processes in individuals and families. Diverse families have many things in common and share more similarities than differences. This foundation builds a more sensitive and understanding society.
- Children are the future of society; therefore, the well-being of children within a family context is crucial to the well-being of society.
- Programs should support and supplement healthy family functioning and be adaptable to the complex processes of change
- Education, policy and programming should support the inherent strength of individuals and families and empower them to be self-sustaining in the context of a caring community.
- The process of empowering individuals and families is guided by the careful development, allocation, management, and consumption of resources.
- Families operate as integrated systems, where issues of child development, family relationships, resource management, work and life are inseparable.
- Individuals and families have the power to learn and grow and to contribute to their own well-being, as well as the well-being of their schools, communities and society as a whole.