Working in partnership with parent’s mean:
- Understanding that all parents have strengths, and helping families build on their strengths and recognize personal power to ensure family success.
- Viewing parents as the experts on their own children and supporting them with resources.
- Listening carefully to parents concerns and helping them identify solutions that will work for their family
- Including parents in the development, implementation, and evaluation of processes and programs that are driven by parents needs and incorporate their ideas and suggestions
- Helping parents take responsibility and learn to advocate more effectively for themselves and their children
- Working to understand parents’ language and culture, adjusting communication to reflect differences
Head Start major goals to support families:
- Forming relationships with families aimed at improving the conditions and quality of life
- Helping families identify and use resources to support them in dealing with demanding or stressful situations
- Contributing to the development of children by offering families support in carrying out parenting responsibilities
- Employing strategies, which help families by effectively addressing their concerns and challenges, while achieving their goal
- Being a family advocate for the families to assure that needed assistance is received
- Family Support is defined as a set of relationships and principles that strengthen the developmental journey with families. Family support helps each family construct a foundation from which to foster the growth of it’s members.
- We are helping parents grow in parenting, problem solving, coping skills, knowledge of child development, and advocacy skills for their child and themselves.
Parent opportunities
- Home Based/ Center Based
- PALS
- Parent meetings
- Community volunteers
- Parent survey
- Parent committees
- Family service assessment / individualized partnership agreement/ family engagement outcomes
- Family well being
- Positive parent – child relationships
- Families as lifelong educators
- Families as learners
- Family engagement in transitions
- Family connections to peers and community
- Families as advocates and leaders
- Fatherhood Involvements
- School readiness/ Transition