Content Area V: Families and Communities

Work collaboratively with families and agencies/organizations to meet children’s needs and to encourage the community’s involvement with early childhood education and care.

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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5

Level 1

• Respects the family’s role as primary educator.
• Establishes positive communication and relationships with families.
• Responds appropriately to parent questions, and/ or refers them to supervisor or service agency in the community.
• Acknowledges the varying structures and cultures of children’s families.
• Accepts individuality of each child.
• Follows rules of confidentiality.

Level 2

• Maintains an open and cooperative relationship with each child's family and communicates daily events.
• Is aware that his/her interactions with children and other adults may be viewed by parents and community members as models for interaction and behaves accordingly.
• Supports the child's relationship with his or her family.
• Respects parents' choices and goals for their children.
• Understands the collaborative role of parents and teachers.
• Respects and supports cultural and linguistic differences and diverse family structures.
• Recognizes stress factors affecting families.

Level 3

• Invites family involvement in the program and provides opportunities for families to share skills and talents.
• Maintains a safe and welcoming environment for families and community members.
• Effectively and positively communicates verbal and written information to families.
• Shares knowledge of general child development with families.
• Demonstrates knowledge of and respect for variations across cultures and family structures, in terms of family expectations, values, and childrearing practices.
• Demonstrates understanding of the complexity and dynamics of family systems.
• Exhibits understanding of the effects of family stress on the behavior of children and other family members.
• Incorporates the families’ desires and goals for their children into program and/or intervention strategies.
• Works cooperatively with families on mutually agreed upon practices (e.g., infant feeding, toddler toilet learning).

Level 4

• Seeks and maintains a collaborative relationship with parents, guardians, families, community agencies, and other professionals to meet the needs of each child.
• Establishes frequent contact with families through a variety of communication strategies, including information in children’s home language and use of interpreters, to provide information to families about child growth, development, and learning.
• Supports parents in meeting the challenges of their family goals and lifestyles.
• Acknowledges and builds on strengths of each family.
• Helps parents assess educational and parenting options.
• Works effectively with families from a variety of cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Implements effective conflict resolution techniques with families when needed.
• Plans and conducts family conferences.
• Supports families in development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Individual Family Service Plans (IFSPs), and Interagency Individual Intervention Plans (IIIPs).
• Works as member of a child’s team to help families obtain clear and understandable information about their children’s disabilities and about the family’s legal right to services within the special education and interagency service system.
• Develops relationships with community resources, provides families with resource information, and makes appropriate referrals.
• Promotes public awareness about early education and care by educating consumers.

Level 5

• Acts as advocate both for children and their families.
• Articulates the various theories of family systems and the effect of stress and crisis on families.
• Plans, conducts, and evaluates activities for family support and participation.
• Helps families move through the changes of their specific family system.
• Promotes staff growth and development in communicating and relating with families.
• Serves as a resource to colleagues, teachers, and staff in connecting families to services in the community.
• Works collaboratively with agencies and community resources to meet the needs of families in the community.