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Defining Family and Community Engagement

Family engagement is an interactive process through which program staff and families, family members, and their children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and professionals that requires mutual respect for the roles and strengths each has to offer. Family engagement means doing with—not doing to or for—families. At the program level, family engagement involves parents’ engagement with their children and with staff as they work together toward the goals that families choose for themselves and their children. It also involves families and staff working toward goals to improve the program. Head Start staff work together with families, other professionals, and community partners in ways that promote cultural and linguistic responsiveness.

Children are at the heart of meaningful family engagement. They are the inspiration for positive, goal-oriented, parent-provider relationships.

Parents enter relationships with staff on their children’s behalf, and they deepen these relationships with their children in mind. They know their children better than anyone—their temperaments, personalities, strengths, vulnerabilities, talents, and special needs. They know their own cultures and what they want to transmit to their children. When parents share their knowledge, they improve provider practices and program quality.

Head Start staff create authentic partnerships with parents when they convey their eagerness to welcome parents’ expertise and their readiness to share the care. Parents can believe in the partnership when they feel the passion providers share with them—for the quality of the child’s everyday experiences, for supporting the parent-child relationship, and for laying the foundations early for a thriving future.

Community engagement refers to the mutually respectful, strengths-based interactions of Head Start staff and families with community members and agencies at all levels. These partnerships support parents’ roles as valued community members and their progress toward their goals for themselves and their children.

Community partners provide tangible child development supports and resources that families and staff want and need. They can work with families and Head Start staff toward such goals. These include parents’ educational advancement, economic mobility, and other aspects of family well-being.

Head Start staff actively seek out and respond to community voices, strengths, and needs. They collaborate with families, community members, and other local agencies to identify common goals, align resources, and share data for continuous improvement and effective partnerships.

Click HERE to view the Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework

Summer is such a special time for families! The grind of the usual daily routine is finally over no more bussing kids all over, no more homework, no more dreary weather, and no more rushed mornings. It’s a chance to slow down and soak up the sunshine.

Whether you’re spending the afternoon at the pool or going on a long road trip, summer presents so many new opportunities to make memories. But, for those memories to be good ones, safety is essential! And the truth is, summer activities can bring a lot of added danger to your daily life! Knowing how to beat the heat is key for a summer that’s both safe and fun!

So today, we’re sharing a roundup of essential safety tips your family should know before heading out to enjoy whatever adventures the sunny day brings. Here’s what to keep in mind:

Summertime Safety Tips for Families

Water Safety Tips

Supervise children near any water and designate a water watcher.

We should never expect a child to know how to stay safe while around any body of water. An adult should be actively watching the kids at all times staying focused on the water without any distractions.

Use Coast Guard-approved life jackets but skip arm floaties.

When a life jacket is needed (not always at the pool, but in any body of water where the bottom isn’t visible), ensure it’s Coast Guard approved. Make sure these are the vest style and avoid arm floaties or Puddle Jumpers, as they can promote poor swim habits.

Put your kids in consistent swim lessons.

Formal swimming lessons can reduce a child’s risk of drowning by 88%! Enroll your children in swimming lessons as early as you can.

Set clear rules around the water.

Children have a strict set of rules around water that they know by heart. Take time to teach them these helpful safety rules:

• No running
• Wait for permission before entering the water
• No breath-holding games
• No pushing, dunking, or rough play
• Stay away from pool drains and filters
• Get in and out of the water safely

Install barriers around home pools.

Use fences, alarms, and self-latching gates to prevent unsupervised access to pools. You can never be too cautious!

Always check water conditions before swimming.

Before entering any body of water, assess the conditions before swimming. Strong currents, wildlife hazards, or other factors could make you think twice before swimming.

Click HERE to continue reading the article.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated July as Purposeful Parenting Month in recognition of the increased time families spend together during the summer months.

According to the Children’s Bureau (News from CB),  this additional time is ideal for parents and caregivers to practice and cultivate intentional parenting skills that focus on understanding child development. The concept of purposeful parenting centers around parents and caregivers being active and engaged and building strong, positive, and functional families.

The American Academy of Pediatrics coined the 6 Ps of Purposeful Parenting, which include:

• Purposeful: Set long-term parenting goals.
• Protective: Ensure your child’s basic needs are met.
• Personal: Prioritize showing your child unconditional love and acceptance.
• Progressive: Approaches to parenting will change as your child grows.
• Positive: Weave positivity and love into communication with your child.
• Playful: Make time to laugh and smile with your child.

Highlighted below are resources that child- and family-serving professionals can use to start conversations about what it means to be a purposeful parent (caregiver). Plus, discover tools to help promote purposeful parenting with the families you work with all year round.

Click HERE to continue reading and to gather the resources to encourage purposeful parenting.

Friends, we are looking for your help at the Nevada County fair this year. We need volunteers to help us run our food booth. Positions include cutting potatoes, preparing drinks, cashiers, food preparation and more!

Please contact us in the Gold Country Facebook Messenger with your name and phone number and we will call you. Thank you!