Relationships with Families
Sharing Community Resources
It is so important for child care providers to share community resource information with families. As a childcare professional, you promote the overall well-being of both the child and their family.Key component of fostering a supportive and collaborative environment. The information should be about local resources and services.
Sharing community resource information with familiesvcreates a strong partnership between the childcare program and families. This demonstrates the preschool's commitment to the development of the child and their family's well-being, and addresses any potential barriers that families may face in accessing services such as: language barriers, lack of awareness about available resources, or logistical challenges. Bridge these gaps and ensure that families receive the support they need.
Helpful Links for Families
Help Me Grow provides resources for families to understand developmental milestones and learn if there are concerns. This helps families take the lead in seeking additional support or referring their child for a comprehensive, confidential screening or evaluation at no cost. Minnesota's Help Me Grow is an interagency initiative of the State of Minnesota Department of Education, Department of Health and Department of Human Services. We partner with all local service agencies.
The Early Learning Scholarships give families financial support to help pay for high-quality early care and education to prepare their young children for school. The scholarship amount is up to $7,500 for a 12 month period. The Early Learning Scholarship must be used at a Minnesota child care or early learning program that is a Parent Aware rated program.
Providers Choice
Providers Choice supports child care professionals who serve healthy meals and snacks to the children in their care. We provide training, compliance monitoring and technical assistance to the family child care providers and centers that we sponsor on the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Providers Choice is headquartered in the west metro of the Twin Cities and serves all 87 counties in Minnesota. This site also has excellent resources for parents.
Center for Disease Control, Developmental Milestones
Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move (crawling, walking, etc.). Click on the link, then click on the age of your child to see the milestones
Paying for Child Care
The Minnesota Department of Human Services has Child Care Assistance Programs for low-income families to help pay for child care, support employment, and remedial and postsecondary education that will lead to employment. There are different programs that families may be eligible for based on a variety of eligibility criteria.
PBS Parents is a trusted resource that’s filled with information on child development and early learning. It also serves as a parent's window to the world of PBS KIDS, offering access to educational games and activities inspired by PBS KIDS programs.
Good Inside
Good Inside is the expert-guided, community-powered platform equipping parents with a new way of seeing and solving challenges at home.
Parent Aware helps programs find opportunities to improve their quality, supports them with the tools and resources they need to succeed, and celebrates the work they are doing to create better lives for children in Minnesota.
Parent Aware helps programs find opportunities to improve their quality, supports them with the tools and resources they need to succeed, and celebrates the work they are doing to create better lives for children in Minnesota.
Active Parenting
Active Parenting Publishers has provided award-winning, video-based parenting classes for helping professionals since 1983. Our evidence-based programs cover topics including parenting programs, step-parenting, divorce, school success, and character education. Click on this link and take the Parenting Styles Quiz and see what your parenting style is!
Center For Inclusive Child Care
The Center for Inclusive Child Care (CICC) is a centralized, comprehensive resource network supporting inclusive care for children in community settings. CICC provides free relationship-based professional development (RBPD) including support, training, modeling and resources to child care programs throughout Minnesota.
Our Parent-Aware Provider Documentation are downloadable materials that have been thoughtfully created to empower caregivers. These documents will give you the knowledge and tools that you need to meet each indicator within the Teaching and Relationships with Children standard and provide you the 4-star Parent-Aware rating you deserve, including Share Information with Families, Foster Family Involvement and Gather Family Input.
Click here to access the free Relationships with Families Parent-Aware Provider Package.