Programs partner with parents/caregivers to promote them in their role as their child’s first teacher and to connect them with their child’s learning experiences in the program.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
23. Center Policies- Parent/Guardian Handbook
32. Orientation
39. Enrollment
42. Documenting Children’s Progress
74. Lesson Plans
77. Infant and Toddler Care
Emerging
- Program leaders guide all staff in building skills and knowledge regarding communicating with families and the importance of family engagement to program quality.
- Program provides information and implements an orientation process to support newly enrolled families.
- Program has policies in place that encourage family engagement in program activities.
- Program collects information from families about their background, culture, traditions, and their children’s needs and develops ways to use this information to connect with families.
- Program employs strategies that facilitate access for all families (e.g., home language materials, different modes of communication, etc.).
Developing
- Program implements a system of timely two-way communication with families regarding various issues, concerns, and children’s needs.
- Program provides a variety of opportunities for families to engage in activities that promote their child’s learning and development as well as more general program activities.
- Program gathers information from families regarding their priorities and needs for learning more about child development, parenting, etc.
- Families are encouraged to share their cultures and traditions within the program.
Advanced
- Program uses family needs information to develop a plan of family engagement activities that is updated annually.
- Program maintains an advisory board that actively engages families and allows them to have a voice in program activities and operations.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
22. Breast Feeding
23. Center Policies- Parent/Guardian Handbook
28. General Qualifications
32. Orientation
74. Lesson Plans
Emerging
- Program leaders have knowledge about the importance of healthy parent-child relationships and their impact on children.
- Program has a plan to offer opportunities for families to understand the development and learning needs of children and to engage in learning experiences with their child.
- Program collects information on family challenges to inform planning of opportunities to reduce parental stress.
Developing
- Program provides families with information on relevant community resources to reduce parental stress.
- Program provides families information on child development and parenting strategies.
- Program provides opportunities for families to engage in learning experiences with their child.
Advanced
- Program educators have an ongoing collaboration with parents that ensures the individual child is at the forefront of the partnership and decision-making.
- Program engages families in evaluating and adjusting the opportunities offered to families.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
23. Center Policies- Parent/Guardian Handbook
32. Orientation
38. Parent’s Right To Know
39. Enrollment
42. Documenting Children’s Progress
74. Lesson Plans
77. Infant and Toddler Care
Emerging
- Program has written policies for communicating with families about family concerns, priorities, and children’s progress.
- Program operates an open- door policy for families to share their concerns and perspectives regarding their child and program operations.
- Program assists families in partnering in educational or other services for their child.
Developing
- Program has a system for identifying family priorities, concerns, and resources to assist with meeting children’s needs.
- Program has strategies for encouraging family participation in parent-teacher meetings.
- Program formally collects information from families regarding perspectives on program operations and shares results with all families.
- Program supports families to actively engage in services to support their child.
Advanced
- Program offers families opportunities to provide feedback on a wide range of aspects of the program and uses parent input to guide quality improvement efforts.
- Program leaders ensure that information shared with families on their child’s progress on interventions and activities are parent-friendly and sensitive to cultural and linguistic diversity of families.
- Program establishes and maintains an advisory board that actively engages families in decision-making about program activities and allows them to have a voice in program operations.
- Program encourages families in becoming advocates for their children.
- Educators partner with families to build educational plans with goals and activities that the families can support at home and communicate with the family about engaging with the plan.
