My Personal Research Journey

Increasing Family Engagement in Early Childhood Programs is the research topic in which I choose to write about. After years and years of working in the Early Childhood field it's amazing to see that so many parents/families are not engage with their child's early childcare program.  I know that parents/families are more busier then ever trying to work, probably  attend school and raising their families but I want to know as an Early Childcare Professional what  I can do to help childcare providers increase family engagement.  I always try to stress to providers the importance of being flexible to meet the needs of all families.  This could be having two different times and dates for parent meetings, more written communication and more importantly having parents set a time that’s convenient for them. I've suggested fund raisers, having the parents donate materials and their time, and getting assistance from the community. So far I have learned that it is still all about "funding".  Many programs don’t have the funds to have the activities that they would like to have or the time to conduct these activities after hours.  I'm also finding out that many childcare programs have given up on trying to  get parents and families’ involved because of past experiences. My question to you all is do you have any information that you can share on ways that childcare providers with limited funding can increase family engagement?