Family literacy programs can only be judged as successful if they succeed in building the literacy skills among children and their parents. That is why the U.S. Department of Education is making a concerted effort to strengthen literacy as well as reading research and practice in early childhood, school-based programs and for low-literate adults.

Family literacy services as defined under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 means "services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and that integrate all of the following activities: (1) interactive literacy activities between parents and their children; (2) training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children; (3) parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency; and (4) an age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences." The essence of family literacy is that parents are supported as the first teachers of their children. Programs work with individuals as well as with the family unit combining the four components to create a comprehensive program.

Research and Evaluation

• Adult Education Reading Instruction. Partnership for Reading website with evidence-based practices for teaching adults in adult basic education and family literacy programs. Also, see information about two new family literacy initiatives that will bring research-based practice to bear on professional development for family literacy professionals.

• Adventures in Parenting: How Responding, Preventing, Monitoring, Mentoring, and Modeling Can Help You Be a Successful Parent. Highlights challenges that parents face in rearing children and suggests ways to become a more effective, consistent, and attentive parent. From the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health(NIH).

• A Decade of Family Literacy: Programs, Outcomes and the Future. Review of resources on family literacy from 1990 to the present. The authors look first at elements of program success, then review assessment models, and conclude by presenting a model program. The authors also suggest potential areas for future research.

• Family Literacy: A Research Agenda to Build the Future PDF. Summary of a family literacy research conference held in Washington, DC in October 2002. Participants discussed the current state of family literacy research, the particular problems and important variables in the family literacy field, and "next steps" for developing a common family literacy research agenda.

• Family Literacy: A Strategy for Educational Improvement. Describes the components of an effective family literacy program (interactive activities between parents and their children, parent training on how to be their child's first teacher, parent literacy training, and age-appropriate education for children), discusses the different ways states can structure these components, and suggests how Governors can support family literacy through specific policies.

Noteworthy Practices

• Pennsylvania Portraits of Success. Stories of Pennsylvania families who successfully reached individual and family education goals through their participation in Pennsylvania family literacy programs. "These families' stories celebrate their perseverance and accomplishments and the program staffs' dedication and effectiveness as they work together in cooperative partnerships representing the best in family literacy programs."

• Successful Strategies in Family Literacy PDF (1.96MB). From the Maine Family Literacy Initiative, this book summarizes the interviews of state family literacy programs and includes many programs identified as best practices.

• Texas Family Literacy Center. Established in 1999 as a resource for family literacy educators throughout Texas. Housed at the University of Texas at Austin within the College of Education's Center for Reading and Language Arts, the Center is open to visitors year-round.

• Wisconsin's Even Start Family Literacy Programs. Wisconsin uses Even Start grant funds to build and supplement family literacy programs in local communities throughout the state. See "Program Highlights" and "Featured Sites" for more details on the programs and their successes.

Additional Links

• Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Supports the development of family literacy programs where parents and children can learn and read together.

• The Family Literacy Special Collections provides individuals working with families a means to access a variety of resources electronically. Explore parenting issues, children's activities, and classroom materials.

• National Center for Family Literacy. The organization's mission is to deliver high quality, dynamic, research-based training, staff development and technical assistance and create and support systems which will help sustain family literacy programs.

• U.S.Department of Education's Website for Parents. Its goal is to provide useful information to assist parents in helping their children to learn.

• Whitehousekids.gov. This guide provides family literacy practitioners and teachers with ideas on how to use the site with children. The themes of reading, making good choices, and dreaming about the future are woven into the site's content through the personification of the President's pets and animals.