Family involvement in afterschool and expanded learning programs can come in many different forms, such as making suggestions for activities, volunteering during the program, or attending an adult education course coordinated by the program. The Build the Out-of-School Time Network (n.d.) has suggested three levels of family involvement in programs: participation, engagement, and leadership.

In “participation,” the typical roles of any family members may include signing up their children for the program and special activities, communicating with the staff to give insight on personal situations and behavior, picking up their children from the program, and attending family nights. “Engagement” includes being directly involved in the program itself through things such as volunteering, becoming a tutor, or taking adult education classes. “Leadership” includes taking responsibility for the direction of the program by serving on a family advisory committee or board of directors for the program, becoming a staff member, or leading a workshop for youth or adults. (Note: The Build the Out-of-School Time Network uses the term involvement, rather than participation, as the first level. We have substituted participation for consistency with the rest of this section.) Program staff members should use Tool 55: Family Engagement and Interest Survey to determine the family’s level of interest in offering its time, participating in adult classes, donating resources, assisting with fundraising, or sitting on the advisory board.

Family members are more likely to participate in programming if it is designed to meet their specific needs and interests, as well as support their children. For example, program staff members should follow up with family members who express interest in adult classes to find out preferred topics (e.g., parenting, managing finances, continuing education, and computer literacy). These classes also should be offered at times that work for the majority of adult participants.

The 10 truths of family involvement are as follows: (1) All families have hopes and goals for their children, but they differ in how they support their children’s efforts to achieve those goals. (2) Both home and school are important influences on young people; each needs to work with the other for the young people’s benefit. (3) The family is the central contributor to a young person’s education, and the program must recognize the potential of the family. (4) Families are busy—sometimes too busy to be involved in the program in traditional ways. Family engagement requires broadening the definition of involvement. (5) Family involvement is a process; it requires ongoing energy and effort. (6) Family involvement requires a vision, a policy, and a framework to build a consensus of understanding. (7) The cornerstone of family involvement is families’ interaction with their own children. Programs need to find ways to bring families together and recognize the difficulty some family members may experience in connecting with their children, particularly older youth. (8) Most barriers to involvement are found within school or program practices, not within families. (9) Any family member can be hard to reach, and each should be dealt with on an individual basis rather than based on gender, ethnicity, family situation, education, or income. (10) Successful family involvement nurtures relationships and partnerships between home and school, family and education, parent/guardian and child, and school and community.

Family members can partner with your program by taking on a leadership role, such as serving on the program’s advisory group or the family advisory board, if applicable. Involvement in planning allows family members to offer resources and develop strategies for sustainability. Active family involvement can provide valuable information that can assist in program development and implementation. Afterschool staff members should be prepared to formally solicit feedback and suggestions on program activities, participant interests, areas of concern, and resources that families can offer to the program.

Creating a family advisory group can have solid benefits for your program in terms of buy-in and support. Keep in mind that not every program will need a family advisory group in addition to its regular advisory board. For example, in some situations, existing groups at the school, such as the parent-teacher organization, fill this role. If so, you can tap into these preexisting groups to garner support for the program. However, if family voice is not sought currently, creating a subcommittee of your advisory group or a stand-alone family advisory group might make sense. Recruit members for your advisory group while you are still planning your program and get their input on how to start out. Having them on board from the beginning helps them feel ownership of the program. Make an effort to include a diverse array of opinions and situations so that you are getting a representative sampling of the views of the young people’s families. Have consistent meetings, probably on a monthly basis. Meetings should generally be on the same night of the week and at the same time so that families can work it into their schedules. It also is important to decide on the size of the group; more than 15 to 18 members may become unwieldy but fewer than 7 or 8 may not be representative of the families as a whole.

After the group is in place, create an agenda and a list of meeting goals for each meeting ahead of time to focus the group and increase efficiency. You can use Tool 4: Template for Advisory Board Agenda to help you create an agenda for meetings. Topics of discussion can include current or upcoming activities, program needs, policies, and specific situations (but be careful to respect youth and family privacy concerns). You also may choose to create subcommittees for specific needs, such as planning special events, fundraising, and hiring staff members and volunteers. During meetings, provide copies of all needed materials to all participants and send all members a copy of the minutes and a summary of any next steps or action items after each meeting. Be sure to follow up on items expressed as concerns. You may not be able to address all issues, but a clear recognition that you are doing what you can and actively trying to work on them can build long-term trust.

Ongoing communication between the program and families is probably the most important factor in getting families involved and keeping them involved. Strategies for communicating with families include the following: (1) Keep family members informed of program activities and their child’s progress through newsletters, notes home, phone conversations, or face-to-face meetings. If possible, try to speak with each family at least once per month and contact them for positive reasons, not just to report problems. Tell them when their child is doing a good job or has developed a new skill or interest. (2) If appropriate and possible (particularly in instances where communication is challenging or an interpreter is needed), set up appointments to visit a family at home. This is a good option for programs with licensed clinical social workers or other trained family engagement specialists on staff. (3) You could send handwritten notes to family members about their child’s progress or upcoming events or give family members opportunities to supplement the program with activities at home, such as reading with their child, having their child read to them, or working on a science or art project. (4) Communicate with family members but also provide ways for families to communicate with you and with each other. If you have a family newsletter, include a “letters to the editor” section or have family members write articles. (5) If you have a family night, give family members a forum to share their experiences and ideas. Use family surveys, such as Tool 55: Family Engagement and Interest Survey, to gauge family members’ interests and needs. (6) If possible, have a staff member devoted to coordinating family communication and involvement. (7) Host an annual Lights On Afterschool open house for your program. (For details, see the Afterschool Alliance website at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org.) (8) Find out where family members in your community spend time and go there. Talk to people and be approachable. Be present at community and school sporting events, art displays, and other places where you can talk to family members. (9) Arrange for focus groups of family members to determine what they would like the program to provide. If possible, have a young person lead the focus group with a set of prepared questions. Provide translation services if necessary. Use Tool 88: Tips for Running Good Focus Groups from the section on program improvement to guide your discussion. (10) Have a presence at school activities such as curriculum nights and parent-teacher conferences. Show your support for young people outside the program by going to school plays, music events, basketball games, or other events. (11) Talk to local faith leaders to gain their support and understanding of your program. See if you can get a notice in the bulletin or have an announcement made. (12) Create a website that your families can use to keep up with the activities and events of your program and the community. If possible, incorporate interactive components such as message boards. Designing, creating, and maintaining the website also may be a good project for older youth or families. Add a link to your website (or request your own page) on the school’s website. Family members often use the school’s website as a key communication method and can learn more about your program easily if they are new to the school or looking for afterschool services.

To prepare for communication with family members, you and your staff need to keep information about families organized and easily accessible. Each participant’s file should have a section pertaining to the family. Information in this section includes identification of the legal guardian, the number of siblings, and results from the Family Engagement and Interest Survey (Tool 55), as well as emergency contact information, family member availability, and other key information that can be applied to the development of the program. Program staff members should refer to Tool 57: Template for Introductory Communication With Families to help establish communication about your program with family members.

It is important to remember that family engagement for elementary school programs and high school programs may look very different. At the high school level, young people may not want their families involved, and families may be struggling to connect with their children. In addition, programs serving older youth are less likely to have opportunities for pickup and drop-off communication as youth become more independent in getting themselves home. If you are serving high school youth, you may need to be a bit more creative in engaging with families. You can still reach out to them by phone, but you may need to send surveys, invitations to events, and information through mail or e-mail rather than sending them home in a young person’s backpack. Ask youth in your program to help you determine the best way to involve their families, including planning an end-of-session event. Ask youth to conduct focus groups or develop a family survey. Have youth develop flyers or create a program newsletter to go home to families. If youth own the communication, they may be more likely to support it and want to get their families involved.

In addition to communicating effectively with families, the program must create a welcoming environment. Families should feel comfortable talking to the program and site-level leadership and staff, observing their children, and participating at whatever level they are able. To create a welcoming environment, you may decide to post welcome signs in all the languages spoken by your young people's families or have a designated space (such as a family center) for family members. Create an environment that reflects the diversity of the families in your program by maintaining a welcome board in your family center and include visitor or volunteer information, photographs of recent events, and other information of interest to families. Encourage families to visit and observe or participate in activities with their children; offer field trips and ask family members to chaperone. Go to the swimming pool, the park, the zoo, a skating rink, the local hospital, or anywhere that families will be able to interact with children and feel engaged in the program.

Create an open atmosphere where families always feel welcome to come and observe the program or their children. You can provide incentives for families to come to family night (e.g., free child care, games that families can play together, door prizes such as video store or movie certificates, and good food) or age-appropriate resources for older or younger siblings in your family center so that the siblings will be occupied and families will not feel rushed when picking up their children. Finally, make it easy for family members to volunteer in the program by providing child care, offering a flexible time schedule, and setting clear expectations.

Use the tried-and-true methods of involving family members: feed them and put their kids on stage. For example, have an awards show and reception during which young people are recognized for their accomplishments, such as most books read, greatest team player, or top attendance. Encourage families to talk with staff members and with each other during the reception.

Some families may be reluctant to participate in your program. Understanding their reluctance to participate will help you figure out how to address them and get your families more involved. What are some common reasons for not getting involved and suggestions for deal with such reluctance?

If family members have a history of bad experiences with schools, leading to misgivings about educational organizations of any type, you can visit family members at home, where they may feel more comfortable and in control. At your location, provide a space that is designated for families so that they don’t feel like they are intruding.

If family members distrust institutions in general and believe that authority figures are not on their side, you can provide constant communication to families about your activities and their children’s successes. Have a meeting with them early on to set out your goals for their children’s development and make sure that your goals match up with theirs.

If family members have discomfort in speaking to teachers and staff members, either because of past experiences or a general lack of confidence, then you can ease families into the process of conversing with teachers and staff members by intentionally creating opportunities for nonthreatening conversations. Some possible examples are small talk at family nights or school sporting events.

If family members have a traditional pattern of deferring to educators, leading them to simply accept whatever your staff tells them instead of providing feedback that you can use to improve your program, you can provide opportunities for family members to supply input and make their opinions known. During meetings with families, ask open-ended questions and listen to the answers. Make it clear that a family member’s input is valued in the program and make changes based on their suggestions (if appropriate).

If family members have a limited ability to speak and understand English, you can make resources available in multiple languages. Hire a translator or staff members to speak with family members who have limited English proficiency. Particularly with families who are learning English, are new to the country, or have come from challenging situations or violence in their home countries, these strategies are invaluable in ensuring effective communication and participation.

If family structures vary (e.g., single parents, foster parents, multiple generations as caretakers, or the young person lives with relatives, friends, or in a group home), then you should take the family situation of each young person into account when planning activities. If you have many single-parent families, make sure that you provide alternatives for any father- or mother-specific activities. Consider the impact of assignments that require young people to work with their families (e.g., a family history) and make sure that you are providing the proper resources for youth whose family structure may not fit the assignment.

If family members work multiple jobs and have limited availability to attend programming or evening activities, then you can offer alternatives to in-person involvement. Send surveys home that they can complete at their convenience and return. Find out when they are available and call them at that time, even if it isn’t during your regular staff time. Survey family members to find out when they have time available and build engagement according to that availability.

Another way to encourage family involvement is by providing resources for family members. Research local community resources and share them with family members. Let them know about services that might interest them, as well as cultural opportunities at museums and libraries. Become your families’ hub of information for all the resources that your community has to offer. Provide parenting classes taught by staff members or other family members. Teach and promote parenting skills and create support groups and resources for parents to help each other. Offer adult education courses for family members of participants. Courses can cover any area in which families would be interested (e.g., English language, computer skills, literature, auto repair, history, or parenting). Use Tool 55: Family Engagement and Interest Survey to determine what types of classes or experiences would interest families.

One of the best ways to build connections with families is to identify their interests and needs and try to address those needs through your program. By helping families, you may encourage greater participation in your program. For example, one program determined that local families spent a large amount of time at a laundry facility so having one on-site became a great asset to the community because the majority lived in apartment buildings without access to their own machines. That program (and the school) sought donations to install several washers and dryers in an unused room at the program site. Then they filled the room with books, games, beverages, and snacks so that family members could take care of a key responsibility and simultaneously build a stronger connection with the school, teachers, the program, and their children.

Family involvement and support can be the key to a successful afterschool and expanded learning program. Young people are more likely to be engaged when their family members are supportive and encourage their child’s involvement. Remember to be intentional about inviting and encouraging family members to offer their services.