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Family Involvement/Partnership Initiatives
Family involvement/partnership efforts recognize that all parents want their children to do well and that children's educational development relies on collaboration among families, schools and early education programs, and communities. Successful family involvement also focuses on developing trusting and respectful relationships among staff and families. It takes into account needs of individual children, family values and culture, and program expectations. Research shows that students with involved parents, no matter what the income or background of the parents, are more likely to attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, have more advanced language and math skills, earn higher grades, enroll in higher level programs, and graduate and enroll in postsecondary education programs. Positive family involvement in children's early learning experience has been found to be an effective strategy for improving the school performance of children, particularly for children from at-risk families.
States and Territories use Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) monies to support a variety of family involvement/partnership initiatives that help encourage and strengthen the capacity of early care and education programs to increase positive outcomes for young children birth to 5 years. These initiatives have been grouped in the following categories: family partnership initiatives, State family partnership activities, and resources.
Representative examples have been included to illustrate the different kinds of initiatives across diverse care settings and age levels. These examples do not include all States family involvement/partnership initiatives, but are meant to represent a range of approaches States have taken to address these issues. Additional resources are available via the NCCIC Online Library, which can be accessed at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?do=oll.search. NCCIC does not endorse any practice, organization, publication, or resource.
Family Partnership Initiatives
Parent Education Networks
State-level parenting education networks are designed to provide systems that strengthen the delivery of high-quality parenting education programs. They are made up of representatives from various agencies and organizations and serve a variety of purposes, including the following:
- Disseminating high-quality, research-based information;
- Educating, supporting, and credentialing parent educators;
- Creating a register of qualified parent educators;
- Advancing professional standards and practices; and
- Designing systems to evaluate parental learning.
The following descriptions of networks in North Carolina, Texas, and Washington provide examples of ongoing parenting education networks.
The North Carolina Parenting Education Network (NCPEN)
www.ncpen.orgNCPEN is a statewide membership organization of parenting education organizations and agencies. Its goal is to build the field of parenting education with a focus on partnerships among parents, child care providers, teachers, and parent educators. Information about North Carolina's parenting educator credential is available at www.ncpen.org/credential.html.
The Texas Registry of Parent Educator Resources (Texas ROPER)
www.unt.edu/cpe/roper/roper.htmTexas ROPER provides information and resources to parenting professionals and parents in Texas. All parent educators in Texas are asked to register in an online searchable database that is used by parents and professionals to locate parent educators by geographic location, parenting program, parenting topic, or language. Texas ROPER provides a professional library, online resources for professionals and parents, and training. It works with agencies and organizations throughout Texas to provide parenting professionals with professional development opportunities. Texas ROPER is planning to develop a statewide parent education association and a form of certification for parent educators in Texas. It is a collaboration of the Children's Trust Fund of Texas, the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, the University of North Texas Center for Parent Education, and the Hogg Foundation. It has the assistance of the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Department of Health, Head Start, the Texas Youth Commission, and many other agencies, parenting programs, and organizations.
Washington Parenting Education Network's (WAPEN)
www.chef.org/programs/wapen.phpWAPEN provides leadership and infrastructure to support Washington State parenting educators in their work with families. It has a broad membership that includes parenting educators from across the State. WAPEN is committed to advancing professional standards and practices and utilizing research, training, and professional support to provide high-quality programs, services, and information.
Parent Education Programs
Effective parenting can help ensure children's school readiness. Educating parents can help them expand their knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to the development of children and promote positive relationships among parents and children. Several organizations have parenting training for professionals who work with children and families. The following is a sample of organizations and publications that have focused efforts and research in the area of parent education and support.
24/7 Dad™
National Fatherhood Initiative
https://www.fatherhood.org/247dad/24/7 Dad is a comprehensive set of fatherhood programs that includes a basic fathering program (24/7 Dad A.M.) and a more in-depth program (24/7 Dad P.M.). Each program consists of 12, 2-hour sessions that can be implemented in a group setting or in a one-on-one, home-based setting. Both programs cover universal aspects of fatherhood. The programs focus on five characteristics that a successful father needs. Each program includes pre- and post-assessment evaluation tools.
Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) USA
www.hippyusa.orgHIPPY USA is an early intervention program that works to help parents provide educational enrichment for their preschool children by using a home visit model. HIPPY provides parents with a set of materials, curriculum, and books designed to strengthen children's cognitive and early literacy skills, as well as their social/emotional/physical development.
Parents as Teachers (PAT)
www.parentsasteachers.orgPAT is an early childhood family education and support program that offers quality training to help communities start the Parents as Teachers program, either as a stand alone program or in conjunction with an existing program, such as Early Head Start or Even Start.
Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers
Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers
www.taalliance.org/index.aspParent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers in each State provide training and information to parents of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and to professionals who work with children. This assistance is designed to help parents participate more effectively with professionals in meeting the educational needs of children and youth with disabilities. The centers work to improve educational outcomes for children and youth with all disabilities (i.e., emotional, learning, mental, and physical).
Family Resource Centers
Family resource centers are community-based centers that provide comprehensive community-based support for education and family services that foster the optimal development of children and families. Family resource centers can be located in schools or other community-based centers. In some States, they are part of a State network. The following selected resources have information about State funding of family resource centers. Representative examples have been included to illustrate the different kinds of State family partnership initiatives across diverse care settings and age levels.
The Connecticut Family Resource Center
Bureau of Health and Nutrition Services, Child/Family/School Partnerships
Connecticut State Department of Education
http://ctpirc.org/cms/The Connecticut Family Resource Center promotes comprehensive, integrated, community-based systems of family support and child development services located in public school buildings. The center uses a model based on the "Schools of the 21st Century" concept developed by Dr. Edward Zigler at Yale University. It provides access to a broad continuum of early childhood and family support services that foster the optimal development of children and families.
Family Resource Centers
Denver, CO
www.familyresourcecenters.info/Colorado's Family Resource Centers are committed to ensuring that families in their communities have access to resources that will enable them to persevere despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Family resource centers are there to lend a hand to those who might only be temporarily experiencing tough times, are new to the community, are wanting to become better parents, are ready to finish their education, or pursue a better job.
Friends of the Family, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
www.friendsofthefamily.org/index.aspFriends of the Family, Inc., is an intermediary nonprofit organization that provides funding, training, technical assistance, monitoring, evaluation, and other quality assurance services to the statewide network of 25 Family Support Centers in Maryland. These centers serve pregnant women and young parents with children from birth through age 3. They provide comprehensive, preventive services related to child and parent health, early identification of and referral for developmental delays, improved parenting skills, increased use of family planning, and skill-building in family social and economic self-sufficiency and self-advocacy. Family support centers are supported with funds provided by the Maryland State Department of Education, Early Head Start, private foundations, corporations, and individuals.
Wisconsin's Children's Trust Fund
http://wctf.state.wi.us/home/FRC.htmIn Wisconsin, the Children's Trust Fund supports family resource centers and provides training, technical assistance, and close monitoring of programs and support services. Family resource centers focus on family strengths and build self-esteem and confidence within families. Because many parents need help at some time, but not all families need the same type or intensity of support, family resource centers develop a wide range of programs to serve the needs of their communities. Seventeen family resource centers receive grants from the Children's Trust Fund to help them meet local needs for parent education and support.
State Family Partnership Activities
States and Territories use CCDF monies to support a variety of initiatives that help encourage and strengthen the capacity of early care and education programs to promote family involvement and partnership efforts.
The following are excerpts from CCDF Plans for FY 2008—2009 that illustrate the different kinds of initiatives across diverse care settings and age levels. These examples do not include all States family involvement/partnership initiatives, but are meant to represent a range of approaches States have taken to address these issues. Minor revisions were incorporated in order to enhance readability.
Arizona
State School Readiness Board's Healthy Child Collaborative and the Statewide Early Childhood Comprehensive System
The Governor's Office and the Department of Health Services, Office of Women's and Children's Health, collaborated to apply for the Statewide Early Childhood Comprehensive System (SECCS) grant. This grant funds planning and implementation over a five year period of time to include parent education, family support, access to medical home, social emotional development, and child care in a statewide cost-effective, comprehensive system. Arizona is in the second year of a three year implementation phase under this grant. A portion of the grant funds the Early Childhood Health Systems Coordinator position at the State School Readiness Board.
California
800-KIDS-793 Phone Line for Parents
A 1-800 telephone system, accessible to the public throughout the state of California, offers assistance to parents and child care providers in obtaining child care and family resource information in their communities. An automated system, using caller zip code information, refers callers to the name and number of the caller's local child care resource and referral agency and can also connect the caller to a live information specialist. This bilingual (Spanish and English) service system is an important component of the comprehensive consumer education campaign.
Maryland
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), and staff from the Division of Early Childhood Development (DECD) serve on the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers, the State's Early Childhood Mental Health Steering Committee, Inclusive Child Care Workgroup, and the Healthy Child Care Maryland Workgroup. Representatives from the State's public health agencies and organizations participate in the State's Early Care and Education Workgroup that works to establish and coordinate services across programs for low income families with young children. Some of the services provided include child care, physical and mental health needs, early education, inclusion of special needs children and other family support needs.
Michigan
The Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP) is a statewide preschool program for four-year-old children who are at risk of school failure and who are not served by other state or federally funded programs. All MSRP programs must provide strong family involvement/parent education components as well as preschool education. Two extensive evaluations of the Michigan School Readiness Program have been conducted. The on-going longitudinal evaluation is available at http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=225. The multi-state evaluation is available at http://nieer.org/resources/research/multistate/mi.pdf. Both evaluations show that the Michigan School Readiness Program is effective in increasing children's language, literacy and early mathematics abilities when they enter school. In addition, local programs must assess children's progress while they are in the program.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Association provides extensive consumer education to parents who call seeking help with locating child care. This includes providing information in a language the family understands, helping families determine which care options best meet their family's needs, counseling families in a sensitive manner about cost of care and payment assistance options available, providing useful information on quality indicators including what to look for in quality settings (group size, ratio, family involvement, caregiver education and turnover, health and safety indicators), respecting families choices about what options are best for their situation, providing information verbally with written information mailed to the family's home, referring parents to additional web-linked resources, and advising parents about how to access regulatory monitoring reports on licensed facilities.
Resources
Federal Agency
Office of Head Start
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/Head Start is a nationwide early childhood program for low-income preschool children, designed to provide comprehensive services in preparation for public school. It has served children from low-income families since 1965. The Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to involve parents in programs and to provide or link families to support services. These requirements are defined in section 1304.40. The Performance Standards are available at www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/legislation/index.html. The Parent Involvement Resource Guide (1998) is available at www.headstartinfo.org/pdf/rg_prntin.PDF.
National Organizations
Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships
www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/center.htmThe Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships conducts and disseminates research, programs, and policy analyses to help parents, educators, and members of communities work together to improve schools, strengthen families, and enhance student learning and development. Current projects include research on the Center's National Network of Partnership Schools.
Family Involvement Network of Education (FINE)
www.hfrp.org/family-involvementFINE is a national network of people who are interested in promoting strong partnerships among children's educators, their families, and their communities. It was launched by the Harvard Family Research Project to serve as a hub of resources for family engagement in children's education and to enable colleagues in the field to connect and communicate.
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Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP)
www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrpHFRP works with policymakers, providers, philanthropists, and concerned people to strengthen family, school, and community partnerships. It promotes evaluation and accountability and offers professional development to those who work directly with children, youth, and families.
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National Center for Family and Community Connections With Schools
www.sedl.org/connections/welcome.htmlThe National Center for Family and Community Connections With Schools links people with research-based information and resources that can be used to connect schools, families, and communities. It emphasizes connections that directly impact student achievement in reading and mathematics, as well as connections that contribute to students' overall success in school and in life. It developed an online database with information about emerging findings and research, sponsors annual conferences, and develops annual reports to help advance procedural knowledge and link research findings to practice.
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National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE)
www.ncpie.orgNCPIE supports the involvement of parents and families in their children's education and fosters relationships among home, school, and community leaders to enhance the education of all children. Information about research on parent involvement is available at www.ncpie.org/WhatsHappening/researchJanuary2006.html.
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National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS)
www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/index.htmNNPS uses research-based approaches to encourage schools, districts, States, and organizations to join together and organize and sustain family and community involvement programs that help increase student success in school. Researchers and facilitators at the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University work with the members of NNPS to study the nature and results of family involvement.
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National Parenting Education Network (NPEN)
www.npen.orgNPEN works to advance the field of parenting education through networking, knowledge development, professional growth, and leadership. NPEN's Web page, State Networks and Connections, has information about States with statewide parenting initiatives. This information is available http://npen.org/resources/state-networks.html.
Publications
"Building the Future of Family Involvement" (Spring 2008), Evaluation Exchange, Vol. XIV, No. 1 & 2, published by the Harvard Family Research Project, examines the current state of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy, and practice. This resource is available at www.gse.harvard.edu/~hfrptest/eval/issue35/index.html.
The Parents as Teachers Program: Its Impact on School Readiness and Later School Achievement (April 2007), by Edward Zigler and Judy Pfannenstiel, published by the Parents as Teachers National Center, describes research that demonstrates that participation in the Parents as Teachers program closes the achievement gap between children entering kindergarten from families living in poverty and children from families above the poverty limit, and that these positive effects are sustained through third grade. This resource is available at www.parentsasteachers.org/atf/cf/%7B00812ECA-A71B-4C2C-8FF3-8F16A5742EEA%7D/
Executive%20Summary%20of%20Kind.%20Rea_singlepgs.pdf."Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education" (Spring 2006), a Family Involvement Makes a Difference Brief, No. 1, by the Family Involvement Network of Educators, published by the Harvard Family Research Project, summarizes research studies that link family involvement in early childhood to children's outcomes. It also reports on programs that have been evaluated in order to show successful strategies. This resource is available at www.hfrp.org/content/download/1181/48685/file/earlychildhood.pdf.
"Resources for Supporting and Involving Families in Meaningful Ways" (January 2006), in Beyond the Journal, by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, lists articles, multimedia resources, and Web sites that provides information about involving families. This resource is available at www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200601/FamilyResourcesBTJ.pdf.
Bibliography of Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education (2005), by the Family Involvement Network of Educators, a Harvard Family Research Project, highlights family involvement research literature related to early childhood education from 1999—2005. This resource is available at www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/bibliography-on-family-involvement-
in-early-childhood-education."Evaluating Family Involvement Programs" (Winter 2004/2005), Evaluation Exchange, Vol. X, No. 4, published by the Harvard Family Research Project, addresses the challenges of evaluating family involvement programs. It notes the need for conceptual clarity, methodological rigor, accountability, and contextual responsiveness. This resource is available at http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/evaluating-family-involvement-programs.
A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement (2002), by Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp, National Center for Family and Community Connections With Schools, published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, reviews research about positive contributions that parent and school partnership programs can make toward student achievement. This resource is available at www.sedl.org/connections/resources/evidence.pdf.
School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (2002), 2nd ed., by Joyce L. Epstein, Mavis G. Sanders, Beth S. Simon, Karen Clark Salinas, Natalie Rodriguez Jansorn, and Frances L. Van Voorhis, National Network of Partnership Schools, published by Corwin Press, Inc., guides school leaders and district and State facilitators to plan, implement, and improve school, family, and community partnership programs. The model is based on supporting six types of involvement: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decisionmaking, and collaborating with the community. Additional information is available at www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/publications/manual.htm.
We Can't Get There Without Them: Addressing the Barriers to Parent Participation in Building America's Child Care System (2002), by Roberta Weber and Jerri Wolfe, published by the Oregon Child Care Research Partnership, notes the critical importance of involving parents in child care decisions at the policy level, describes barriers to their participation, and lists resources for those people and organizations responsible for bringing people to the table. This resource is available at www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/familypolicy/occrp/publications/2002-We-Cant-Get-There-Without-Them.pdf.
Updated August 2008
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