We work to build the capacity of the early care and education field to effectively partner with families and communities, support family well-being, and promote children’s school readiness.
Our Approach
The National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) was established to strengthen the capacity of Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care communities to achieve positive, enduring outcomes for the children and families they serve. Our goal is to promote exemplary practices for family and community engagement in support of children’s school readiness and healthy development; parent leadership and advocacy; family economic mobility; community partnerships; individualized support for families; and staff-family relationships that are equitable and culturally and linguistically responsive.
Our primary audiences include Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care communities; regional and state training and technical assistance networks; and child care administrators in states, territories, and tribes. We collaborate with other national centers in the Administration for Children and Families Early Childhood Training & Technical Assistance System to achieve our goals.
Additional Resources
NCPFCE seeks to achieve two long-term outcomes:
- Families and community partners are engaged in support of children’s school readiness and healthy development and family well-being.
- Integrated, comprehensive, and effective training and technical assistance across systems.
To achieve these goals, some of the resources our work has yielded include:
- The Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework.
- A webinar series about building foundations for economic mobility (BFEM).
- The Economic Mobility Toolkit for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
- A synthesis of content and resources for conducting racial equity workshops with Head Start audiences.
- Reports on developing partnerships between Head Start programs and child welfare agencies.
- A webinar series about promoting parent leadership and advocacy.
- Relationship-based Competencies (RBCs) to support family engagement.
- Interactive learning modules about supporting children and families experiencing homelessness.
- Resources related to enhancing father engagement efforts in Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
- Simulations related to boosting young children’s school readiness.
These and other resources can be accessed via the Office of Head Start’s Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC).
Partners
- Boston Children’s Hospital Brazelton Touchpoints Center (lead agency)
- Child Care Aware of America
- Child Trends
- Center for the Study of Social Policy
Funders
The National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) is jointly administered by the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care.
