From Principles to Practice:

Building a Family Engagement Culture

With 800,000 children under the age of 5 years in Los Angeles County, early childhood funders and advocates have been testing models and strategies that respond to the vast diversity of languages, cultural perspectives, and experiences families face as they navigate the labyrinth of local systems and services. As part of stakeholder discussions sparked by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment in 2015, local advocates developed a shared definition for family engagement as well as five guiding principles. These principles build upon the work of national advocates and stress the need to embed practices across the systems and settings that serve families with young children.