Family learning systems are dependent upon coalitions of institutions, organizations, community members, and families who engage in deep, comprehensive work bringing together a continuum of programs and resources-- spanning birth through adulthood--in family literacy, family engagement, and family leadership. These intentional efforts will create…

Each August, prior to going back to school, all school-age students and their parents in the southeast Ohio community served by the Gallia County Health Department have an opportunity to visit the county health fair. This program, which draws 350 to 400 people each year, is a collaborative effort of the county health department, job and family…

In 2021, Baby's Space became a Community Resource Hub. Funded by Minnesota's federally-funded Preschool Development Grant (PDG), the Community Resource Hubs help pregnant and parenting families with children under age 9 connect with needed resources. Baby's Space: A Place to Grow is a child development center that works to create a cycle of…

This executive summary describes the study, "Community Conditions That Strengthen Families: Protective Factors Work at the Community Level." The Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework, developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), has had a significant influence on how child- and family-serving programs…

This article promotes a grounded approach to Indigenous language revitalization that honours Indigenous peoples' desire to restore Indigenous language use in their daily lives. The approach offers a way of revitalizing Indigenous languages by reintegrating them into Indigenous social life and an Indigenous way of learning, thus also sustaining and…

Access to play has been recognized as a universal right of children (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31) and promoted by international and national organizations with a focus on children's well-being, such as Childhood Education International, the International Play Association, the US Play Coalition, and the Alliance for…

Youth are natural scientists at birth, discovering and exploring their world and trying to make sense of it (Bers, 2008). A child's education is not limited to just the time they spend in the classroom. Children learn at home with their families, in public libraries, or through out-of-school-time (OST) experiences provided at community centers and…

Theoretically, increasing family resilience, may contribute to an increase the resilience of communities. However families in South Africa experience challenges to their resilience, often owing to a variety of historic, socio-economic, and political factors. Research and intervention planning that attempts to ameliorate the effects these factors,…

When combined with high quality early care and education, comprehensive services are intended to support families in their role as caregivers and foster the health and well-being of children. Connecting children and families to these services is a foundational feature of the Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) models. Partnerships between EHS…

Since Head Start's inception, mental health has been an important component of their service delivery. The Head Start Performance Standards provide a foundation for programs to design and deliver mental health services. Mental Health Consultants are the professionals who provide these services. Head Start has a robust history of building…

This article describes an infant and early childhood mental health-informed therapeutic visitation program that offers clinical support, systems-level advocacy, and developmentally appropriate guidance to families navigating the child welfare and family court systems. The program offers treatment, permanency, and placement planning for infants,…

Libraries are learning hubs that connect families to free resources, activities, and services to cultivate children's learning about topics that excite them. Despite recent technological developments which have revolutionized how we read and access information, libraries continue to evolve in order to serve their communities, especially families…

The authors reflect on how they, as social work practitioners, support the school systems in supporting homeless youth and families. They emphasize the importance of relationships and trust in working with this vulnerable population. The reflexive vignettes highlight the challenges and success of developing community-based programming for homeless…

Community schools are an evidence-based strategy to advance a "whole child" approach to education by offering integrated student supports (e.g., health care or housing assistance), expanded and enriched learning time, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership and practices. This brief examines how local government and…

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) began as a year-long initiative to support early learning for very young children and families. The program has grown into a self-sustaining, nonprofit, place-based organization committed to improving the lives of children and families in the underresourced neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, MI.…