The December 2020 CCEI Newsletter focuses on family engagement strategies. In it, we explore the benefits of family engagement initiatives as well as different types of engagement programs can introduce. The newsletter also provides recommendations for planning and implementing these important initiatives.
If your program is seeking a formal family engagement program, there are plenty on the market. These programs are sometimes referred to as parenting interventions. Think of these tools as a curriculum that you would use with the parents of your program to enhance parenting skills and to build stronger relationships with their children. Each program has unique features and costs associated with it so deciding on the type of program that would work best for you will take careful consideration.
The National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement has created a helpful resource that provides details on many of the family engagement programs that are available today in the Compendium of Parenting Interventions.
The document lays out the details of a variety of programs that may be appropriate for the families enrolled in your program. The compendium describes each program along with the types of families best served by the program. You can also find information about outcomes and objectives, the length of the implementation of the program, the languages in which the program has been published, and minimum workforce qualifications for staff who will be using the tool. You can also find information about the costs as well as the type of training required and the cost to receive that training.
The Compendium is a very helpful tool for any program that is seeking to improve family engagement, especially if you looking for a program that would work for a specific target audience.
If you are interested in exploring the types of programs that are available but don’t want to get caught up in all of the details, you can find an easy-to-read At-a-Glance Table on pages 16-19 of the Compendium.