Engaging the Parent/Family Voice
in EEC Policy Discussions
Policy and Research Committee
January 7, 2013
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EEC Mission Statement
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education
and Care’s mission is to provide the foundation
that supports all children in their development as
lifelong learners and contributing members of the
community, and supports families in their
essential work as parents and caregivers.
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EEC and the
Family Voice
“The work we do, in partnership with you, is vital to
the future social and economic wellbeing of the
Commonwealth - as today's children will become
tomorrow's citizens, workers and parents.”
~Commissioner Killins
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CFCE Alignment with EEC’s Strategic Plan
The goals and priorities of the CFCE grant directly align with EEC’s Indicators of
Success under the Family Support, Access and Affordability section of the EEC
Strategic Plan. These Indicators include:

Families are aware of the mixed early education and care system and have access
to affordable, high-quality early education and care services.

Families are recognized as full partners in the education of their children and are
empowered to be involved with the physical, social, emotional and intellectual
development of their children.

Families are informed about child development and aware of family support
resources.

Families of infants have access to programs and services that support the
development of healthy attachment between babies and their primary caregivers
and promote early brain development.

Parents are recognized as their child’s first teacher and have access to literacy
supports that build skills among children and parents.

Families have access to high quality supports and resources for transitioning
children in and out of early education and care programs and services.

Families that are limited or non-English speaking have access to information about
early education and care and the services available.

Family services are integrated and delivered in a coordinated manner across state
agencies.
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Interagency Framework: Strengthening
Families Protective Factors
EEC, in partnership with CTF and DCF, continues to utilize the Strengthening
Families framework and approach, which has widespread support from social
science researchers, early childhood practitioners and policy experts. The
Protective Factors are:

Parental resilience: The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of
challenges

Social connections: Friends, family members, neighbors, and other
members of a community who provide emotional support and concrete
assistance to parents

Knowledge of parenting and child development: Accurate information
about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their
behavior

Concrete support in times of need: Financial security to cover day-to-day
expenses and unexpected costs that come up from time to time, access to
formal supports like TANF and Medicaid, and informal support from social
networks

Children’s social and emotional development: A child’s ability to interact
positively with others and communicate his or her emotions effectively
Retrieved from The Center for the Study of Social Policy, Strengthening Families, January 5, 2010.
http://www.strengtheningfamilies.net/index.php/main_pages/protective_factors
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COMMUNICATION GOAL
Current EEC Opportunities for
Parent/Family Engagement
The EEC Board of Directors and The Policy and Research
Committee currently has one member who serves as a
parent representative.
Monthly EEC Board Meetings are open to the public.
Community Parent Meetings with Commissioner Killins are
held periodically throughout the state.
Parent/Family Surveys have been used to gather information
and feedback.
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Proposed Opportunities
for Increased Parent/Family
Engagement in EEC Policy Discussion
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Partnerships and
Collaborations
EEC currently has relationships with several organizations
that can be leveraged to share policy related information and
solicit feedback from parents and families. These
organizations already have existing family and community
outreach efforts as well as thousands of established
parent/family groups. These organizations include:
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
CFCE Grantees (Coordinated Family and Community
Engagement) are required, among other things, to include
parent representatives on their councils.

EPS Grantees (Educator and Provider Support) indirectly
reach parents/families through their support of educators and
providers. Assistance with QRIS offers a natural opportunity
to promote parent/family discussion in EEC policy through
Category 4: Family and Community Engagement .
CCRR Grantees (Child Care Resource and
Referral Agencies) have numerous interactions
with families and, in addition to making referrals,
they also collect data, provide trainings and ”connect with
community leaders, public officials and stakeholders.”

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
MHSA’s (The Massachusetts Head Start Association)
governing board includes parent representatives. One of
The Board’s objectives is to,
“Encourage widespread collaboration between Head
Start and other appropriate programs, services, and
initiatives and augment Head Start's capacity to be a
partner in State initiatives on behalf of children and
their families.” (source: www.massheadstart.org)

WGBH- the educator and parent curriculum project
currently in development has an advisory group that meets
periodically and includes parents on the committee.

Massachusetts Early Intervention System’s
Leadership Project is “staffed by parents whose
children have received Early Intervention Services…
The Project's main goal is to promote lifetime
advocacy, leadership skills and the development of an
informed parent constituency, which will encourage
early intervention services to be increasingly family
centered. The Project is a parent driven endeavor,
which continually seeks family involvement and input
regarding the needs of families enrolled in Early
Intervention and is implemented by parents whose
own children have received EI services.”

The United Way- Brain Building in Progress
is a joint initiative between EEC and the United Way,
to provide more information on the science of brain
building and why our future depends on it.
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Additional Organizations and
Partnerships that Offer
Opportunities for Parent/Family
Engagement Include:
Museums and Libraries throughout the state
offer many opportunities for parent/family events
and gatherings.
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren,
sponsored by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs,
meets monthly.
• The Postpartum Commission is a collaboration
of individuals representing health and mental
health care, insurance, children and families,
education, legislators and members of the
community.
•
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Media Outreach
Email Distribution via the Commissioner’s Blast, can include
an “EEC Policy and Research Updates” section. Use of an
email marketing system such as Constant Contact will
provide a dynamic format for publications, links to resources,
calendar events, surveys, as well as many other services.
Users can also subscribe to topics of personal interest.
On-line Parent Surveys such as Survey Monkey, provide a
quick and convenient method of collecting parent and family
feedback.
Telephone Contact through Mass 211, can be used to inform
and invite parents/families to scheduled committee meetings.
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Social Media
Sites such as Twitter,
YouTube and
Facebook, offer
parents and family
members an informal
and easily accessible
means of
communication.
Some of these are
already in use by many
Mass.Gov
departments.
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The Early Childhood
Information System
The Early Childhood Information System, currently in
development, will give EEC the ability to not only share
information with parents and families, but also to provide
parents and families with the opportunity to contribute their
comments and suggestions.
A Department of Early Education and Care Policy and
Research Committee Updates web page may include:
1. A brief overview of current policy related topics.
2. A specific question related to this topic, which solicits
feedback.
3. A response box where parents/families can type their
opinions and then submit to EEC.
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Outreach through the
Quality Rating and
Improvement System (QRIS)
Category 4 in QRIS is comprised of standards that are related
to Family & Community Engagement. The current
language does not specifically include EEC, but may be
revised in a manner that requires providers to connect
families directly to EEC’s resources.
Relevant Center-Based and School-Based standards:
•
4A.4.1 “Parents participate on the Advisory Board for the
program and are actively involved in the policy and decision
making for the program.”
•
4A.4.2 “Program provides or connects families to education,
training and support programs (such as family literacy, adult
education, job training, child development, parenting,
English as a second language, etc.).”
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Relevant Family Child Care standards:
•
4A.2.2 “Educator maintains a list of current
community resources that support families
that is always accessible to parents, including
information about available resources for annual vision, hearing
and dental screenings.”
•
4A4.2 “Educator provides or connects families to education,
training and support programs (such as family literacy, adult
education, job training, child development, parenting, English as
a second language, etc.).”
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Relevant After School & Out of School Time standards:
•
4A.2.2 “Program maintains a list of current community
resources that support families and is accessible to students and
families.”
•
4A.4.1 “Parents participate on the Advisory Board for the
program and are actively involved in the policy and decision
making for the program.”
•
4A.4.2 “Program connects families to education, training and
support programs (such as family literacy, adult education, job
training, child development, parenting, English as a second
language, etc.).”
Considerations when Strategizing Ways to
Increase Parent/Family Engagement in
EEC Policy and Research Discussions
Location
Transportation
Time
Child Care
Meals
Confidence
Language
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CLOSING
• Additional Proposals?
• Questions and Comments
• Next Steps
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