Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education

Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education is an evidence-based, cost-effective strategy to prevent child abuse and neglect. The Strengthening Families framework capitalizes on the unique relationship between parents and child care providers. Strengthening Families teaches child care providers to use everyday opportunities to connect with parents and support families. All families experience stress, and child care providers are uniquely positioned to recognize signs of stress and offer support. Alleviating stress in families can prevent child abuse and neglect before it ever occurs.

Strengthening Families is a quality standard in Idaho’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Facilities earn points toward a star rating based on the implementation of the Strengthening Families framework. In this way, the Quality Rating and Improvement System recognizes and validates the importance of a partnership between parents and providers. The five Strengthening Families protective factors are:

• Parental resilience

• Social Connections

• Knowledge of parenting and child development

• Concrete support in times of need

• Healthy social and emotional development of children

Child care providers learn how to build the protective factors through a training curriculum developed in Idaho. Here are some quotes from providers who completed the training:

• I never knew I knew so little about child development.

• [I learned] to open your mind and look deeper into situations that occur; parents using no diapers - maybe they did not forget but cannot afford to buy them.

• Value families for who they are.

• I have been more observant to each individual family’s circumstances to better provide them with helpful materials and community aid service.

• Understand that there are no good or bad emotions, that we all get stressed out for different reasons. So when a parent seems stressed, I acknowledge their feelings and empathize with them.

• I have used skills and knowledge to better communicate with parents and establish a relationship built on trust, communication and understanding!

• The way I view families has changed as a result of these trainings. I am realizing that there could be many questions/concerns they may have which I could be helpful in collaborating a solution.