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Family engagement is a collaborative and strengths-based process through which early childhood professionals, families, and children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and staff at all levels that requires mutual respect for the roles and strengths each has to offer. Family engagement focuses on culturally and linguistically responsive relationship-building with key family members in a child’s life. These people include pregnant women and expectant families, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other adult caregivers. It requires making a commitment to creating and sustaining an ongoing partnership that supports family well-being. It also honors and supports the parent-child relationships that are central to a child’s healthy development, school readiness, and well-being. The Office of Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework is a guide to learning how family engagement promotes positive, enduring change for children, families, and communities.
Creating virtual spaces for parents to build relationships with other parents allows them to share their learning and challenges and to get additional support from other parents as experts.
When planning your year, assess which virtual engagement strategies work best for your program and families. Then, use the Virtual Engagement Planning Tool to develop your action plan.
Use the following tips to gather the information you need to begin planning virtual family engagement services. These tips also can help strengthen your current practices and support ongoing improvement.
These questions can help you develop your virtual family engagement action plan. Once you implement your plan, refer to the questions as part of your continuous quality improvement efforts.
By incorporating virtual delivery methods into family engagement approaches, programs can increase access and improve convenience and flexibility for families and staff.
Access the research brief used to develop the e-book.
In this series, learn more about the core knowledge and competencies early childhood professionals need. Find out how these skills are key to engaging families effectively in positive, goal-oriented relationships.
Each March is a renewed opportunity to honor and celebrate the social work profession nationally. These unsung heroes have a profound, positive impact on the lives of millions of people every day.
Explore references and additional resources related to the Birth to 5 Father Engagement Guide.
These are the research-based sources used to inform this book.
HeadStart.gov
official website of the Administration for Children and Families
