 Welcome to our webinar on the topic, Family Engagement in Early Childhood Settings in North Dakota. This educational webinar is brought to you by the State of North Dakota, North Dakota Department of Public Construction, and NDSU Extension. We hope you'll find this topic to be relevant in your life and work. This is Sean Brotherson, Extension Family Life Specialist with NDSU Extension. The webinar will highlight the topic of Family Engagement in Early Childhood Settings in North Dakota, explore background and findings from research with parents and partners across the state, and offer some starting points with regard to Family Engagement in Early Childhood Settings. Family Engagement is a key priority of working with children and families in North Dakota. In 2019, the State of North Dakota was awarded a Federal Planning Grant, known as the Preschool Development Grant, birth through five, which was intended to assist states in improving their existing early childhood infrastructure and resources. One specific goal of the project was to expand understanding and opportunities for family engagement in early childhood settings within the state. We wanted to hear from parents and partners across the state. To accomplish this, a three-part information gathering process was followed that included, first, a series of focus groups around the state with parents and early childhood professionals on family engagement issues in North Dakota, second, a brief quantitative survey with parents and early childhood professionals on family engagement, and third, an environmental scan of existing useful resources on the topic of family engagement to provide starting points on this topic. This approach was not a comprehensive assessment of the resources and issues in our state, but it did allow us to gather feedback, insights, and perspective on family engagement from the voices of our parents and partners in early childhood. What do we mean when we refer to family engagement? We may think that we know what it looks like, such as children, parents, and early childhood professionals spending time and activities together. In general, respondents in North Dakota suggested that family engagement refers to ways that families are involved and active in their child's early care and education. One focus group participant in North Dakota shared, I think family's view engagement is important. It's just finding the amount of time to do this. We all want to be the best parents we can possibly be. Everybody wants that same goal. I think that being respectful of our time with being working parents or stay at home parents or whatever it is, people are busy, but they want to find opportunities to be with their kids and to do family-oriented things. For this project, we were further guided by the definition of family engagement that states, family engagement is an interactive process through which program staff and families, family members, and their children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and professionals that requires mutual respect for the roles and strengths each has to offer. Family engagement means doing with, not doing to, or for families. This definition was developed as part of the Head Start, parent, family, and community engagement framework. Why do we focus on family engagement? For optimal development to occur in children ages birth to five years old, families and early childhood professionals need compatibility in their attitudes, beliefs, and actions regarding child development best practices. Family engagement opportunities with early childhood professionals or other community resources are important because these activities enhance and promote building the synchronous mindset required for a child's optimal development. To gather feedback and gain insight on family engagement in North Dakota, we went out into the field to collect survey responses and listen to the voices of North Dakota parents of young children and professionals working with these families. In our statewide survey, 175 parents of children ages 0 to 5 in North Dakota responded to questions on family engagement. Additionally, we conducted multiple focus groups in different areas of the state on family engagement. Who shared their insights? Participants included parents of young children, public health workers, early Head Start and Head Start professionals, school counselors and teachers, early intervention professionals, and childcare program staff and licensors. The first topic explored in the survey was preferred family engagement options relative to involvement with the child's early care and education. The most highly preferred options were family events such as play groups or family nights, which 76% of respondents preferred. Next, 66% preferred technology based options such as texting or email contact, all about half, 48% liked printed information. Personal contacts such as home visits or parent teacher conferences were preferred by two out of five participants and a quarter preferred parent education experiences. As you think about engaging with families, these preferences suggest great starting points for your varied efforts. In the focus group discussions, family members with young children and early childhood professionals highlighted a range of meaningful opportunities for family engagement with children ages birth to five across multiple communities in North Dakota. The main supportive settings for families were community based options, family and community support organizations and formal educational options. This helps in understanding key partners you might work with to support meaningful opportunities for family engagement. For example, community based options that were highlighted and you may link with include children's drama or theater groups, fitness or recreation programs such as a children's dance studio, music education programs, city parks and recreation programs, local art centers, museums or zoos, preschool programs, faith linked parent groups like mothers of preschoolers, the local public library and informal networks of family and friends. These provide some great starting points for opportunities to enhance family engagement. Other supportive settings for family engagement identified in focus groups were family and community support organizations and formal educational options. As you work with families, be aware of family and community support organizations including early intervention services, home visiting programs, hospital or health care systems and pregnancy or parenthood support efforts. Additionally, formal educational options can include child care or preschool settings, early head start or head start programs and public or private schools supporting early childhood. Beyond different types of family engagement options, it is helpful to understand who individuals look to for information on family engagement and how they like to receive or access such information. Another topic explored in the survey was the information sources that parents look to most for information on family engagement. The two top information sources that parents or caregivers rely on for such information are the Internet and a child care provider or teacher, both of which were highlighted by 63% of surveyed participants. This was followed very closely by health care professionals, such as a nurse, pediatrician or early intervention provider which were noted by 61% of those who responded. Just over half, 53%, rely next on family members or friends for information on family engagement ideas. A few other key information sources noted by about a quarter of parents were other community professionals, parenting magazines or books, parenting classes or groups and NDSU extension. As you consider who to share your and family engagement opportunities with, reaching out to all of these information sources can be beneficial for getting information to families. In the focus groups, participants described a range of contact methods that they most appreciated for family engagement. These methods fall into four categories and provide guidance on how to reach out to families. You might consider how to use a combination of these contact methods. First, technology contact options include brief texts or emails, private social media groups or apps like CSAW and Brightwill. Second, direct contact options at a distance can include sending printed information using a family engagement calendar or just making a phone call. Third, one-on-one direct contacts include multiple options such as home visits, making brief connections when a child is dropped off, holding parent teacher or parent provider meetings, making a personal request for participation or engaging other family members such as grandparents. Finally, direct contact using a group approach can occur through a monthly parent meeting or facilitating a parent network to share information. These are all meaningful ways to engage families for engagement using preferred contact methods. As you seek to use different contact methods, be flexible and adapt to family needs or circumstances. One parent in a focus group noted, I think that options like apps or email would all be good. It's just whatever they have time for. Everyone has complex schedules and we don't always get to have that face-to-face even though that's really good and I feel like it's better than technology but it's not always possible. You can also adjust based on the circumstances as another parent explained. We did get one phone call that was very hard to receive. My child had an accident at school and it was a very traumatizing phone call. It was very hard to get, but I would much rather be getting a phone call versus an email saying, hey, we need you to come pick him up or he's in the hospital or something. I probably would have been a lot more ticked off if I would have gotten an email versus a phone call. So be conscious of the best contact method for a given family or circumstance as you seek to engage them. In our third topic, North Dakota parents and early childhood professionals shared a wide variety of key strategies facilitating family engagement in early childhood settings. We'd like to share five particular strategies and specific examples of each one that emerged in our focus groups. The first strategy is to provide an introduction or set up a linkage to a specific community resource as a mechanism for family engagement. For example, you might network with other providers and link a family to a resource such as the Right Track Early Childhood Screening Program. Another example would be to highlight specific community resources in a clear, convenient location such as sharing a community events calendar. Also, you might invite representatives of other programs to share and make connections with families such as having a visit from a local Head Start program representative. A second key family engagement strategy that emerged focuses on facilitating parent-to-parent connections. This makes it possible for them to share information and reminders about events, link each other to useful resources, and build support networks. As an example, you can support a buddy system for sharing information among families by forming a parent social media group. Also, encourage parents to connect proactively with other families, such as through holding family activities that enable meeting others. Another example might be to support play groups or discussion groups that link parents such as the parent-to-parent network supported by Family Voices of North Dakota for families with a special needs child. While some families connect naturally, others need consistent opportunities and support to form helpful connections or just learn more about their child. A third key strategy in family engagement is to furnish a consistent opportunity for parents to gather with each other, meet and increase their knowledge, skills or connections to others or sources of support. To do this, for example, you might offer regular family meetings or activities to socialize, such as when Head Start invites dads to breakfast once a month. Another example would be to furnish educational classes to parents and children, which you can do by partnering with your local parent and family resource center. You could also host or sponsor a regular parent discussion or support group, focusing on a specific topic such as parenting kids with ADD or ADHD or perhaps a certain audience, such as parents who had a child in the newborn ICU. A fourth key strategy for family engagement identified in focus groups was to utilize a transition experience to engage children and families in a systematic way and ease the transition. Transitions are common in early childhood, such as entering childcare or starting kindergarten and provide excellent chances to connect with and support families. As an example, you might provide an orientation session to the transition setting or experience, such as hosting a formal orientation for a child and parent when a child enters a new childcare setting. Similarly, you could invite children and families to visit and get familiar with a new setting or experience, such as the kindergarten setting, such as might happen with a kickoff for kindergarten night or the gearing up for kindergarten program. Another example is to continue opportunities for family contact after a transition with staff or a program such as an open house for babies who were born in the newborn ICU and their families. A final key strategy that emerged in focus group discussions was to utilize formal educational settings to offer specific opportunities for engagement, such as helping in the classroom, being on a committee and so forth. Educational settings are a great place to build connections in early childhood. For example, connect with parents as they come to a location, greeting them as they drop off or pick up a child. Small moments of connection can foster greater family engagement. Another example might be to offer regular chances to help with class activities, perhaps inviting parents in to assist with the project. Finally, engage parents in supporting learning activities, such as encouraging them to support a book reading effort with their child for four weeks at home. You can explore further key strategies for family engagement in our full report. The voices of North Dakota parents and professionals suggest many ideas for engagement, but most importantly, they simply encourage a continued focus on healthy family engagement as one parent voiced her need. I feel like I am lacking some of the skills. If there were more groups that could help me engage and learn how to engage better, early intervention was great, but then it ended. So as a first-time parent not having good teaching skills and engaging skills, I feel like I lack that skill. So if I had more opportunities in any setting to get together and learn how to be a teacher for my child, then I'm game for any of it. The fourth major topic explored in the family engagement survey and focus groups was the issue of barriers or challenges to family engagement. When we surveyed 175 parents about this topic, these are the items they indicated as common barriers to engagement. First, 44% of parents noted this was the major obstacle to engagement. What was it? Lack of awareness regarding opportunities. Reaching parents effectively with information and reminders remains the largest obstacle to family engagement. Next, 25% of parents noted lack of childcare as an obstacle while 22% indicated that work schedule conflicts or distance to travel made engagement challenging. Finally, 16% of parents felt there were limited opportunities for engagement in their area while 16% also noted difficulties or limited communication between parents and providers. We explored this topic more in depth in the focus group discussions. In the focus groups participants explained a variety of barriers that occur that can limit family engagement. A key finding was that families may experience challenges that limit opportunities for family engagement due to issues of attitude, awareness, availability, and access to community options. With regard to attitude, parents or family members may simply be shy, uncertain, fearful, or embarrassed about asking questions or accessing community resources. Additionally, some may feel there is a stigma associated with help seeking or receiving assistance or resources which can limit engagement. The feedback regarding awareness indicates as emerged in the family engagement survey, the lack of awareness is a primary barrier for family engagement. Therefore, the identification and use of marketing or outreach strategies that effectively reach families is a key strategy to overcome this challenge. On the topic of availability, several elements reflect that family engagement may be limited due to availability issues. This can include limited available slots in a program such as a childcare or preschool, few community options in a rural area, a shortage of providers in a location or region, and also other demands that exist on those providing family engagement options. In other words, there is often a gap in what is available to families. All of these availability issues can limit family engagement. Another challenge that arises for some families that limits engagement is that gaps may exist in family engagement opportunities due to policy guidelines. In some cases, guidelines may limit involvement in programs that have qualifying standards. In other cases, the complexity in systems may discourage families or other policies may limit their engagement. Exploring such gaps can help to identify policies or systems that may limit engagement. In addition to the barriers already discussed, families also may experience a variety of specific family linked or community linked challenges that can limit opportunities for engagement. With respect to family linked challenges, there may be individual or family background concerns or health issues such as mental health considerations that can affect a family's involvement. Families may have conflict with busy work schedules. Some families may experience economic or resource barriers that may stand in the way of their participation. And some families may have difficulty managing the time commitment involved for a specific type of engagement. There are also a variety of community linked challenges. For example, there may be limited supports in a community for those speaking English as a second language. There may be limitations in the child care system such as a shortage of openings or challenges with being able to fully staff child care positions in a community. Similarly, there may be a shortage of staff resources to provide key supports in areas like supportive children with special health care needs. And finally, the time or distance involved in reaching available supports may be a challenge in specific communities. In the focus group discussions, the final topic of exploration was preferred opportunities and resources for family engagement that family members with young children and early childhood professionals emphasized. Feedback on family engagement emphasized the relevance of personal connections with others, digital connections and community connections with established providers in the early childhood community. We will highlight each one briefly. Personal connections with others provide the first preferred option for possibilities of family engagement. Two key points emerged from this finding. First, the most critical resource or strategy to enhance family engagement is making personal connections and building relationships between parents and community professionals or providers. Making personal connections and building parent provider relationships is critical. Second, the most likely source of information that individuals turn to first for learning about family engagement opportunities are their personal connections, meaning their family members, friends and parents with children of a similar age. Connecting with and sharing information via these informal networks is valuable. Digital connections also provide a useful pathway to understanding possibilities of family engagement. For family engagement, digital connections are used primarily as a method of contact, a resource for finding information or as a mechanism for sharing information, invitations or reminders. Also, social media can be useful to inform families about child activities or to share reminders, and the electronic backpack concept can assist in sharing information. Good online sources related to family engagement, the participants mentioned were Attendance Works, the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Learning, the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Zero to Three. You may wish to spend a bit of time online using these resources. The network of community providers serving children and families furnishes many resources and possibilities for family engagement. This network can facilitate awareness and engagement by providing informational resources and links to other providers and contacts in the Early Childhood and broader community. Key resources identified with our focus groups include First, healthcare providers and institutions and networks are a key source of information and connection for families and their children, particularly nurses and healthcare workers across settings such as home visiting, schools or other programs. Examples of valued providers in the healthcare context include the Women, Infants, Children or WIC program and the North Dakota Health Tracks program. Next, the Early Childhood Intervention and Support System and Associated Providers also function as a primary source of information and connection particularly for families who have children with specific life challenges. Examples of valued providers and programs in the Early Intervention context include the statewide Early Intervention system, the Right Tracks program which is free to North Dakota Children ages birth to three and other resources. A third source of support is the educational providers, institutions and networks that supply information and connections to families with a special emphasis on teachers in early childhood settings and childcare providers as trusted and valuable resources for families. Dedicated staff assigned to family engagement can provide a consistent mechanism for reaching out to families. Examples of valued providers in this context include Early Childhood Special Education, Early Head Start and Head Start, End Issue Extension and local parent and family resource centers. Sharing information and building connections among providers and with families can greatly facilitate family engagement. This concludes our exploration of the topic of family engagement and early childhood settings in the state of North Dakota. In summary, the information included in this presentation provides a useful variety of feedback from parents and early childhood professionals regarding the topic of family engagement in North Dakota. We're grateful to those who participated in providing this information and also to those who reviewed it. Our hope is that parents, early childhood professionals and other stakeholders will find useful information for consideration and exploring issues and needs related to the topic of family engagement in North Dakota. This project was made possible through a collaboration between the state of North Dakota, North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and the Issue Extension and the North Dakota Parent Education Network. Additionally, we extend our appreciation to the parents and early childhood professionals who participated in this project. Their insight and perspective on the topic of family engagement and related activities provided through these contributions regarding the available opportunities, barriers, resources and preferences in North Dakota. For further information and to access other resources on this or related topics, contact the State Office of Early Learning in the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction or in the Issue Extension.