Introducing Family-Centered Practice

因为家庭对孩子的发展是核心，特别是在早期的岁月里，他们是他们孩子教育过程中的合作伙伴，积极参与者和决策者。因此，以科素为本is considered one of the indicators of quality in early-childhood education, programs, and services. At the heart of family-centered practice is the belief that families are the most important decision-makers in a child's life (Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean, 2005).

Family-centered practice also means that you, and all program staff, understand the important effect all family members have on each other and on the individual child. Each family member affects the other and the ways that the family functions. All family members are interconnected. From our families, we learn skills that enable us to engage in school and the workplace.

When considering family-centered practice, you view each child or youth as part of a larger system; you view family members as a whole family system. As a T&C or manager you help program staff become aware of and sensitive to the interactions and relationships taking place within the family, as well as outside interactions and supports that affect them. It is important that your entire program staff understand that to maintain relationships with families and to work effectively together, you learn, respect and understand characteristics of each family and its support system. You can also consider the characteristics and stressors that may affect a family's involvement. What affects one family member can affect all family members. A family is a complex system in which no one member can be viewed in isolation.

Throughout the Virtual Laboratory School, we consider family-centered practice as an umbrella term that encompasses the beliefs and actions of people in your program. Consider this table:

Family-Centered Practice 家庭中心的实践是一组影响我们互动家庭的信仰和行动。
信仰	行动
Families are the most important decision-makers in a child's life.	We learn about families' ideas and preferences. We provide choices in programming. We involve families in program leadership. We involve families in decision-making.
Families are unique and their differences enrich our programs.	We honor and respect diversity. We involve all the important people in a child's life. We engage and involve families. We develop responsive and reciprocal relationships. We represent families in our programs.
Families are resilient.	我们了解家庭的优势，需求和环境。 We connect families with resources. We build families' strengths.
Families are central to development and learning.	我们与家庭分享信息。 We listen to families. We view families as their child's first teacher. We respect families' expertise about their child.
家庭是我们的合作伙伴。	We use respectful, responsive, and two-way communication. 我们接触家庭。 我们涉及我们计划的各个方面的家庭。

As a T&C or program manager, you should make an effort to get to know the families in your program. You should convey and model for program staff the importance of understanding each child and family, as this creates opportunities for you to better support the children or youth in your care. You can learn more about family-centered practices in the Family Engagement course.

Welcoming Each Child and Family

Where do you feel welcomed? What happens in that place that makes you feel welcome? Do families feel welcome when they come to their child's classroom? How are families greeted when they call the program or ask a question?

T＆CS和计划管理人员在涉及到该计划的家庭方面取得领先地位。作为领导团队，T＆CS和计划经理应该讨论如何支持该计划的使命，不仅关心儿童，而且对儿童家属深入关心。T＆CS和程序经理为该程序设置了基调。他们欢迎父母，使他们感到与该计划相连。正如他们关心孩子欢迎如何，他们关注父母的方式不仅在下降和拾取时间内容，而是在他们的孩子的下面。

重要的是，T＆CS或计划经理要求父母希望如何参与，并提醒家庭成员，他们是该计划的重要部分。父母应该能够选择涉及许多方式 - 特别是对军事家庭，在父母如何能够参与的情况下具有灵活性至关重要。同样重要的是，T＆CS应该与计划人员进行对话，并遵守与家庭的互动，以确保家庭受到适当的欢迎，并有多种方式参与其孩子的特殊课堂。

父母想要有意义的对话阿布t the program and their child. As a T&C or manager, it is important that you help ensure this happens at the program-level and within each classroom. In particular T&Cs should take time to observe pick-up or drop-off interactions, and, in child care programs, review parent-teacher conference documentation, to help staff members reflect on how they communicate about the child, and how they can use these opportunities to learn more about families and form a collaborative relationship with each child's family. When parents volunteer, in the classroom or the larger program, they need to have clear directions, a purpose, and to know what the expectations are for them. Parents who serve on a program advisory board need to know that their voice is just as important as that of others on the board.

此外，家庭手册可以帮助T＆CS和计划管理员与父母交谈，了解计划任务，哲学，政策，程序，角色和职责。对于节目经理，这可以是与您在您的程序中注册时与家庭分享的伟大信息项目，并打开门，以便您分享有关该计划的更多信息，并回答家庭的问题。要求父母在家庭手册中添加或包含的想法是另一种证明家庭是重要决策者和部分计划社区的方法。

的另一个核心方面确保家庭感觉welcome in your program, is confirming that program staff update families about their child's day and week. Ongoing communication, including two-way communication, where parents and the child's caregiver exchange information about the child, is important. Working together on behalf of the child benefits all parties. Program staff must also be able to reach out to T&Cs or program managers when they are unsure how to approach particular issues or topics with children's families. T&Cs and program managers should be prepared to help program staff learn how to sensitively approach families. Sometimes T&Cs or program managers may be part of meetings between caregivers and parents, or they may help staff members prepare for meetings and ensure they have the appropriate time and space to communicate with families.

T&Cs and program managers may have to explain to families why the program promotes developmentally appropriate practice, how the chosen curriculum supports youth development, and stages of development. Sharing information with families that helps them be better informed as parents is a component of program leadership. You may do this in the form of print resources, family workshop nights, and in one-on-one, or team meetings with individual families.

程序经理应该有明确的反馈机制，以了解该计划如何满足家庭的需求。重要的是要提出问题并提供具有不同方法的家庭，以提供领导团队的反馈（问卷，建议框，一个关于一个对话，家庭活动）。

T＆CS和计划经理还应专注于家庭的优势。Allfamilies have strengths andallfamilies have challenges. Model for others a focus on each family's strengths. T&Cs and program managers can engage staff in forming relationships with families and set the tone for a warm, welcoming program atmosphere. T&Cs and program managers serve as models and leaders who demonstrate the true spirit of caring for families.

Watch the video below to hear T&Cs and programs managers describe the importance of connecting with every family every day and the benefits of creating a partnership with parents.

Program Management: Welcoming Families

Helping Families Access Services for their Child

Meeting families' needs, ensuring they feel welcome, and providing assistance when there is a concern are all essential aspects of a T&Cs and a program manager's work. In many cases, the T&Cs is the first person a staff member talks with when they have concerns about a child's development. Having an ongoing progress-monitoring system for each child that indicates his or her growth and development provides excellent documentation to share with parents. Keeping observation records at various times of the day is also critical to documenting how children are progressing over time as they learn new information and skills. Families should also be encouraged to share information about what they observe at home. Families often are the first to notice if their children are experiencing difficulties.

条例和程序经理协助项目工作人员和families with documentation and referrals to appropriate agencies when there are questions about a child's development. They should have access to phone numbers, addresses, and other written information concerning vision and hearing screenings, health-care providers, early intervention services, school district special services teams, and mental health service agencies. These can be difficult conversations to have with families and so great care and sensitivity must be used when relaying any concerns with children's families and sharing information about the child. When approaching a family with concerns about their child's development, you should be prepared:

• To ask families about their concerns and what they notice about their child's experiences at home.
• 通过儿童或青少年在该计划中的经验中获取文档，以帮助解释您的疑虑。
• With a list of resources to discuss together potential next steps.
• To listen to families. Hearing or talking about their child's development may be a very emotional experience for some families, especially if there are other stressors in their lives.
• To emphasize that you are here to help support the family and their child, and that your program staff wants to work as a team with the family to support their child in best possible ways.

When programs enroll children who receive special services, the T&Cs and program managers should ensure that the children and teachers have adequate resources and supports. Teachers need training and consultation to work with children with disabilities. The T&Cs or program manager will need to work collaboratively to ensure that an infant's individualized family service plan (IFSP) outcomes or a preschool child's individualized education plan (IEP) goals are addressed. The child's family, the school district or agency personnel, and the child care program leaders are a team working on behalf of the child with disabilities. Successful inclusion of children with disabilities requires careful planning, intentional teaching, and ongoing communication among all team members. You should follow your Service's procedures for how to support children with special needs and what is needed regarding IFSP or IEP documentation. You can also access the套件资源to work with program staff on developing strategies to support children with a variety of special needs.

有优异的资源可用（参见参考文献列表），T＆CS和计划经理可以用于自己和员工成员的专业开发。培训和适当的员工和家庭资源对于成功包容至关重要，并应明确地写入任何参加育儿或课后方案的残疾儿童的任何IFSP或IEP文件。重要的是要记住家庭，或有时儿童的特殊服务提供者（例如，职业治疗师，言语治疗师，物理治疗师，早期干预专家等），可以是如何适当地支持具有特殊需求的孩子的伟大资源。作为T＆C或Program Manager，您可以安排您和相应的计划人员聚集在一起的会议，以了解在课堂上使用的特定技术来支持孩子。适当时，您甚至可以帮助家庭和计划工作人员携手共同努力，他们如何与孩子课堂上的其他孩子谈论他们的特殊能力。请参阅与残疾儿童的Pacer Center Champions学习附件，告诉同学关于您孩子的残疾可能会促进接受, for more information. Although this resource is framed for families, it has many helpful ideas and strategies for how families and staff may thoughtfully approach discussions around children with more significant unique abilities with the larger classroom community.

Watch the video below to hear T&Cs and program managers describe their role in ensuring children with disabilities and special needs receive appropriate care and how to support staff members and families through the journey of caring for these exceptional children.

方案管理：具有特殊需求的家庭

Collaboration with Community Partners

The program manager represents the program to local agencies, schools, and businesses. Program managers may be involved in local groups such as a child care directors’ association, an interagency council focused on youth development and career training, a local community college work group, family advocacy groups and other associations or boards that promote child and family well-being. The program manager demonstrates a commitment to partnerships with other agencies and businesses in the community. As the face of the program, the manager acts with integrity and professionalism.

Some community partnerships may involve program managers committing to carrying out policies and procedures as outlined in memorandums of understanding (MOUs). MOUs are sometimes developed between organizations to organize and facilitate agreed-upon services for children and parents. For example, a child-care program may have an MOU with a birth-to-3 early-intervention agency that indicates in writing that the agency will conduct developmental screening for infants and toddlers enrolled in the child-care center at no cost to the parents or child-care organization. An MOU for developmental screening may commit the program manager to obtaining signed permission forms from parents in order to have their infants screened, explaining the screening process, and including parents in the process. Arranging for space at the child-care center for the agency staff to conduct the screenings also may be part of the MOU. Such an agreement means parents learn more about their child's development without the need for families to travel to another agency or take time off work. When program managers work together with community agencies and businesses, the time spent on collaboration can result in enhanced service to the children, families, and staff.

Other community collaboration activities that T&Cs and program managers can engage in include:

• Shared professional development opportunities (workshops, webinars, conferences) for themselves and their staff
• Opportunities to apply for grants, scholarships, materials for staff (e.g., some civic groups and service organizations offer grants for schools and agencies for particular ideas, such as adding more science-related materials)
• 受益于志愿者来回的机会m the community who can share their skills and expertise with the staff and children
• 费用援助支持军事家庭，无需访问基地幼儿提供者，例如通过儿童保育意识，https://usa.childcareaware.org/fee-assistancerespite/military-families/. Non military-affiliated families, see:http://childcareaware.org/families/paying-for-child-care/federal-state-child-care-programs/

Building collaborative relationships takes time and attention, but it often has meaningful outcomes in terms of enhancing the overall quality of the child and youth program. Groups that focus on professional support for T&Cs (e.g., a coaches group) or program managers (e.g., a child care director's group) can provide those in leadership positions with a network to share their celebrations and challenges and to create new friends and colleagues among those working on behalf of children and families.