Family Engagement

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.

Relationship-based Practices: Talking with Families About Developmental Concerns

In this interactive simulation, practice using relationship-based communications skills to raise and discuss concerns about a child’s development with the family.

Engaging Families from the Start

A strong relationship between families and Head Start staff is essential to promoting healthy child development and positive learning outcomes. Strong relationships are rooted in trust and comfort, which you can build by being genuine, sincere, curious about them and their goals, and supporting them as they work toward those goals.

Goal Setting with Families

The goals of the Head Start training are to develop skills and practices for developing strong relationships with families in order to help families identify and set goals.

Starting with Strengths in Challenging Times

Learn about these five strategies to partner with families going through a challenging situation.

Welcoming Fathers: Program Environment and Strong Family Partnerships

In this webinar, learn more about relationship-based strategies and effective ways to engage fathers in your program. Find your starting point in making improvements to program environments.

Leveraging Community Partnerships to Support Fathers’ Well-being

Explore ways to support fathers in your program through effective community partnerships. Learn about the types of community connections that can support paternal well-being.

Engaging Fathers in Their Children’s Learning and Development

Find out how staff can partner with fathers to best support their children’s school readiness. Research shows that engaged fathers can have significant positive effects on their children’s cognition, language, and social and emotional development in the preschool years.