Connecting Family Engagement with Child and Family Outcomes Julia Martin Eile, OSEP Leslie Fox, OSEP Brenda Sharp, Louisiana Part C Carol Seay, Georgia Part B Danielle Howes, Vermont Part C

Purpose of the Session To highlight key principles & recommendations from the ED/HHS joint policy statement on Family Engagement To discuss how improving family engagement practices can lead to improvements in child and family outcomes. Sharing of state examples of program improvements in engaging families. ECTACenter.org

Where to find the joint policy statement on Family Engagement Here is the page where you can find the policy statement. The link can be found in the document on the conference mobile site, but you can also search for family engagement in www.ed.gov. What you will find here is a short, 4-page executive summary, and the considerably longer statement itself, with links to resources. While the executive summary has the content, the longer document is worth reading since these concepts are fleshed out more fully and with substantially more complexity with inclusion of children with disabilities.

Policy Statement Purpose Align the Frameworks with principles of effective family engagement Why the joint policy statement? HHS developed the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework for Head Start, and the Department of Education has its Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships. The joint policy statement is a way of aligning the two frameworks by pointing out the numerous intersections between the frameworks so that practitioners can move forward in creating successful family engagement practices and policies in all contexts in which young children learn and grow.

Policy Statement Purpose Build a common language Prioritize family engagement as an early childhood and educational strategy. Provide guidance to the field for implementing high-impact family engagement practices. …have something valuable to contribute. The purpose of the policy statement is to build a common language around family engagement, and in doing so, elevate and prioritize family engagement as an effective educational practice. Secondly, the policy statement provides guidance to the field for thinking about how to implement family engagement practices that work.

Definition of Family Engagement Family engagement refers to the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children’s development, learning, and wellness, including in the planning, development, and evaluation of such activities, programs, and systems. The document also includes this definition, which is unique to this policy statement. Notice that the wording puts the onus of family engagement on the programs that provide services to families, not on families. We wanted to emphasize that the responsibility for families rests with programs and schools. We also wanted to separate it out from parent engagement in their children’s education, that is the things that they may do with their children in order to improve their children’s education. So to give an example, a parent reading to his child would be an example of parent involvement, while programs to help parents understand how to read with their children and access books would be an example of family engagement. Separating out family engagement from parent involvement is a way of assuring that parents do not feel additionally burdened with taking on responsibilities they may feel unprepared for. Lastly, we avoided the use of phrases such as parents being “equal partners” in their children’s education because it led to confusion about responsibilities. Insofar as parents are responsible for their young children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week they are not equal but superior to the teachers and programs responsible for those young children x number of hours x number of days. On the other hand, while children are in programs, the adults in charge of those programs are responsible for all children served and therefor are not equal to parents. Hence, we used the phrase that families are “essential partners” to denote that family engagement is essential to making programs successful.

Principles of Effective Family Engagement Create continuity and consistency for children and families. Value respectful and trusting relationships between families and professionals. Develop goal-oriented relationships with families that are linked to children’s development and learning. Engage families around children’s health, mental health and social and emotional well-being. Ensure that all family engagement opportunities are culturally and linguistically responsive. The effective principles are grounded in the acknowledgement that all families know what’s best for their children. They may not yet have the capacity or resources to do what’s best for their children, but they want to do the best. For families of young children with disabilities, their resources and capacity in this new world may be particularly challenged but their capacity can be enhanced by following these principles. The second assumption is not to meet families where they are and not judge the extent to which they want to be engaged.

Principles of Effective Family Engagement Build staff capacity to implement family engagement practice principles. Support families’ connections and capabilities. Systemically embed effective family engagement strategies within early childhood systems and programs. Develop strong relationships with community partners that support families. Continuously learn and improve. Principle of effective family engagement for programs

Recommendations to Promote Family Engagement Plan for and prioritize family engagement. Communicate consistent messages that support strong family engagement. Invest and allocate resources. Establish policies, procedures, and practices that support family engagement. Establish workforce capacity building that supports family engagement. Develop and integrate family engagement data for continuous improvement in systems and programs. Recommendations – Plan and Prioritize Consistent Message Invest and Allocate Policies Capacity building of workforce Develop family engagement data and integrate it Data is so important for program improvement so Now, I’m going to turn it over to my colleague Leslie Fox who will talk to you about Family Engagement and its relationship to the SSIP and child outcomes.

Connections to the SSIP Linking Practices to Outcomes Program Activities & Practices Referral & Intake Child Assessment Family Assessment Team Meetings & Decision Making Service Provision Service Coordination Selection of Staff Training and Professional Development Funding Streams Program Philosophy Provider Practices Use of Assessment Information Communication skills with families Knowledge of and experience with evidence-based practices Team communication and decision-making Coaching and consultation abilities Fidelity Family Family priorities and concerns Learning preferences Resources and needs Number of caregivers Location of services Family Outcomes Child Outcomes Improved Child Outcomes as measured by the State-identified Measurable Result

Brenda Sharp, Part C Coordinator Louisiana Part C Brenda Sharp, Part C Coordinator

Louisiana’s SIMR The EarlySteps system will improve child outcomes through supports that are focused on family concerns, priorities, and resources and provided through a team-based approach. 3. Develop goal-oriented relationships with families that are linked to children’s development.

How we got here 2008: Strategic Plan—a joint plan between the lead agency and the SICC. Vision: A one-stop-shop with effective teaming and family-driven quality services for all children Goal: The system will include family/professional training that incorporate partnerships that result in quality services with positive outcomes for children and families 6. Build staff capacity to implement family engagement principles and practices

Implementing the Strategic Plan Focus on team-based service delivery for a more effective, streamlined system which maximizes resources. Focus on improving quality of IFSPs 10. Continuously learn and improve

Moving to the SSIP Our vision stayed the same: can’t improve child outcomes without the connection between family CPRs and IFSP outcomes The difference is in the implementation Phase I literature review of team-based service delivery as the evidence-based practice “Family Engagement promotes children’s learning and healthy development”

The Stars Begin to Align Early Care and Education System Re-design Relationship-based care: use of the CLASS to support improved child outcomes Project LAUNCH Initiative Brain development research ACEs Training in the LAUNCH pilot region on the PIWI: Parents Interacting with Infants 4. Engage families around children’s health, mental health and social and emotional well-being.

Next Steps “Refresh” on family assessment-writing IFSP outcomes with implementation fidelity built in Connect CLASS dimensions with provider strategies to support caregivers in early care and education settings Continue to train early intervention provider teams in the PIWI Develop measures for measuring improvement—aside from child outcome measures 8. Systematically embed effective family engagement strategies within early childhood systems and programs.

Carol Seay, Part B Data Manager Georgia Part B Carol Seay, Part B Data Manager

GA’s Parent Mentor Partnership Mission of the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership : To build effective family, school, and community partnerships that lead to greater achievement for students, especially those with disabilities. Vision of the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership: Parent mentors and special education administrators will lead the way in Georgia to bridge the gap between home, school and community partnerships.

History 2002 Six school districts in GA Hired parents mentors to infuse family engagement into school and district activities Funding GADOE Local funds Duties and responsibilities Provide information to parents of SWD Assist in the navigating the special education system Support teachers and administrators in planning and implementing activities to support facility involvement

Today 2016 Over 108 parent mentors Over 100 districts Funding GADOE Local funds Duties and responsibilities Partner with special education directors Embed family engagement into school and district initiatives The Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership quickly has become a model for families and schools working together to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

Who are the Parent Mentors? Parents of children with disabilities Who support other parents by providing information and resources to help their children succeed in school and transition from school to adult life Who experienced special education first hand from the time their children transitioned into special education from early learning programs to the time they graduated and transitioned to post-school environments Who navigated the special education process including the development of Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) and the secondary transition plans Who searched for resources for their children to support their successes at home, at school, and in the community

Professional Learning The DOE provides on-going training regarding special education and family engagement to support the work of Parent Mentors with other parents, teachers, administrators, and community members New Parent Mentor Orientation 1 ½ day training for new parent mentor Parent Mentor Kickoff Conference 2 ½ day retreat for all Parent Mentors Quarterly regional meetings (6 regions) Drive-in University (every other year) Family Engagement Conference - Collaboration with Title 1 (every other year)

Partners Babies Can’t Wait – Skilled Credentialed Early Interventionists Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning Center for Leadership in Disabilities at Georgia State University Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Georgia Family Connection Partnership Institute of Human Development and Disability at the University of Georgia Parent to Parent of GA – Georgia’s Parent Training Information Center (PTI)

Process Family engagement Outcomes Data Calls, emails, meetings, trainings, events Family engagement Evaluation tool Outcomes Linking to student outcomes

Process Data

Parent Mentors Role: Transition from BCW Collaborate with Interagency Council for Young Children Transition from Part C to Part B Plan events for transition Resource fair Panel of parents IFSP to IEP Work closely with preschool teachers in the districts Family engagement training

SOS Sharing Our Story

Vermont Part C Children’s Integrated Services Danielle Howes, Part C Coordinator

Vermont Part C Family Engagement Connecting Family Engagement with Child and Family Outcomes Vermont’s SSIP SIMR believes these are interconnected: Vermont families are able to help their infants and toddlers develop and learn functional social and/or emotional skills, and infants and toddlers substantially improve their social and/or emotional functional development. ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement Fostering family connections means that Vermont will intentionally focus on identifying opportunities for families to connect within their communities, and to expand family leadership and advocacy skills at the provider, regional and statewide level. In this way Vermont will support families to connect with other families reducing their sense of isolation and improving their social connections. Social connections support children’s healthy development, reduce family isolation, and increase natural supports for families. Stakeholders identified that when families have healthy social connections, these connections contribute to improving social and emotional functional development of infants and toddlers. In order to be successful at this goal, we need to learn from families and have their help to achieve improvement. The OSEP Policy Statements validates Vermont’s approach to involve families as essential partners. Vermont is investing resources to develop authentic family engagement within the early childhood system. Vermont Part C is leading this effort to develop consistent approaches and messages for families and pratitioners. ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement To accomplish our SIMR Vermont’s SSIP prioritizes family engagement Individual family Community Statewide Family engagement is interconnected with all other Part C activities. Discuss: PD for practitioners to improve engagement with families to identify needs, determine strategies, and create a plan for their family. Parent Café’s connected with ELC RTTT grant to increase opportunities for families to inform systems change. Improving parent survey response rates for meaningful family input. Increase family leadership on VICC and expanding leadership opportunities for families. Not just participation or involvement, but leadership to inform system growth to improve outcomes for children and families. ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement Increasing Family Survey Response Rates ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement (Insert VT Slides) Families need to know that their input actually affects change. Practitioners need to value family input, and use data obtained from families to make improvements. We provided a script to practitioners to use when talking with families about the importance of their input and how the data are used for quality improvement – inform QIPS from determinations. Incentivized practitioner participation to increase response rates by providing $ for professional development. Hired a staff to work with regions to use data to inform and develop strategies for QIPs, implement, evaluate and adjust strategies. ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement By sharing family survey data in a meaningful and timely way the State and regions can work together to use these for to continuously learn and develop effective quality improvement strategies. ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement Infrastructure Improvements Family Engagement Coordinator will Coordinate VICC and increase parent involvement Develop a family engagement framework Develop a family engagement toolkit including self-assessment All work will align with statewide work associated with Governor’s Action Framework Race to the Top Early Learning Grant Child care quality Integrating Family Services (human services birth-22) Hiring a staff for whom family engagement is the person’s primary focus ensures standardization of practice (which allows PD and TA support), alignment and coordination, unified messages and activities, and maximize resources. Describe parent café alignment with RTTT. ECTACenter.org

Vermont Part C Family Engagement In our future we will see improvements at every level: Families participate in COS rating Families report they are able to effectively communicate their child’s needs Families report they are able to help their child develop and learn Parent Cafés are hosted by families and provide system information for system improvement Family Survey data is used by State staff and regional programs to improve State Part C services Leadership from families occurs at every level Vermont will provide ongoing family leadership development activities ECTACenter.org

Questions & Discussion How does the policy statement support your work? What family engagement tools and materials are you using? What will your measures be to show improvement in family engagement? What do we need to do to improve engagement at all levels? What does this look like from the family perspective?