Student Login Student Login
Member Login
Welcome, (First Name)!
Forgot? Show
Log In
Enter Member Area
My Profile Log Out
Sentry Page Protection
Updated April 1, 2017

Module 5: Family and Community Partnerships

Family and Community Partnerships

Page 3

Outcome A:  The student will recognize that families are the primary educators of their children.

The learning outcomes for this section address topics from the following WACs:
Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers
170-295-2080 What must I communicate to parents?
170-295-2030 How should staff interact with children?
Licensed Family Home Child Care Standards 
170-296A-6775 Diversity
170-296A-2375 Parent/guardian policies (handbook).
Scroll down to proceed with the coursework.
1) Read the following pages in the Child Care Licensing Guidebook
Alternate: ​Family home child care care programs provide care to children in the providers own home.  The topics addressed in module 5 can be found in the Family Home Licensing Guidebook on the pages shown below. ​
1) Family Home Child Care Licensing Guide ( FHCC ​)
  • Section 3 pp 3-5, "The Power of Interactions and Relationships,"
  • Section 6 pp. 21-26, "Parent/Guardian Policies"  
All families should be recognized as their children’s primary educators, and supported in the important and exhausting work of raising young children. 
Early childhood professionals are in positions to play an essential role providing this support. Child care has been called “the new extended family” (Galinsky & Hooks, 1977) since modern families often depend on their children’s providers for help and advice on parenting. 
​The concept of diversity and the role of families were introduced in Module 1.  To review, diversity includes differences in family make-up, culture, income, race, religion, abilities, resources, and school involvement.  The word “families” will be used in place of “parents” to be more inclusive of the variety of primary caregivers, such as grandparents, step-parents, aunts or uncles, and others.  
​Community resources are services available to the public to help them meet their needs, become self-reliant, and increase well-being.  Child care providers help by identifying and connecting families to appropriate community resources when needed.  
Supporting children means supporting families.  
Nurturing child-care providers will try to strengthen family relationships by creating collaborative partnerships based on respect and trust.  This module is intended to help ​providers build positive relationships with families and work with community resources to best meet young children’s needs.  
Parents of a young children want many things from their child's care provider:
1) A clean and sanitary environment. Toys being picked up throughout the day, tables being cleaned, hands being washed, dirty diapers out of reach of children, etc.
2) To be welcomed and informed as a new family to a center.
3) Kind and nurturing care for their children.
4) Good communication, including how the child's day went.
5) Helpful tools/learning opportunities for them as a parent. 
6) To know how the child care program operates, including the daily schedule .