Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Families

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Strategies

In recent years, the early childhood profession has expanded its orientation to include intentional efforts to prevent—not just report—abuse and neglect.   The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) generously supports efforts by NAEYC, ZERO TO THREE, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), and others (go to the foundation’s Web site for a complete list of Child Abuse Prevention Program grantees) to ground this new intentionality in research and implementation of evidence-based strategies.   Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Families is NAEYC’s DDCF-funded professional development initiative to lead early childhood educators in preventing child abuse and neglect through family strengthening efforts.

Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Families focuses on six strategies that high quality early childhood programs and professionals already employ to support and strengthen families.  These strategies have always been part of NAEYC’s mission and vision for early childhood education and are reflected in NAEYC’s position statements, code of ethical conduct, conference offerings, and Early Childhood Program Standards - especially the standards on Relationships, Families, and Community.  Research conducted by NAEYC identified specific areas of practice needing more attention:  handling children’s challenging behaviors and communicating with families about difficult topics. NAEYC’s perspective has been informed further by the work of CSSP that identified factors that protect children and articulated the strengthening families approach.  Thus, NAEYC’s strengthening families efforts include but go beyond the protective factors identified by CSSP.  These six strategies are consistent with NAEYC’s commitment to high-quality early childhood education while adding emphasis to strengthening families - enhancing factors that protect children from abuse and neglect while reducing known risks.   

The strategies are:

1. Provide high quality care and education through developmentally appropriate practices;
2. Develop reciprocal relationships with families;
3. Recognize signs of abuse, situations that may place children at risk of abuse, and provide families with appropriate support;
4. Understand, and help families to understand and handle children’s challenging behaviors;
5. Build on child and family strengths; and
6. Stay informed about professional responsibilities and take charge of professional development. (NAEYC, 2004)