Using Home Visits with a Family-Centered Approach - By Siobian J. Minish & Laura S. McCorkle

Oct 15, 2026

A research-based discussion explains how early childhood educators can build partnerships with families through home visits framed by a family-centered approach. It outlines the rationale for viewing children within their family and cultural contexts, and connects standards from NAEYC and DEC to reciprocal, capacity-building collaboration. The article highlights home visits as a flexible setting for shared decision-making and describes tools such as the Routines-Based Interview and Reciprocal Approach, including evidence on benefits and monitoring needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

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Using Home Visits with a Family-Centered Approach

The Importance of Home Visits

Using Home Visits with a Family-Centered Approach By Siobian J. Minish & Laura S. McCorkle Home visits help to establish partnerships. As the beginning of the school year approaches, Grace, an early childcare teacher of an infant/toddler classroom, prepares to set the school year off on a good note. She understands that working with families is a priority and considers the use of home visits to deepen her understanding of their specific needs, as well as how to support their children’s transition into her classroom. In her professional development opportunities as an early childcare teacher, she has learned about two tools in partnering with families, the Routines-Based Interview (RBI) and Reciprocal Approach. Grace believes that both may be useful and decides to implement them with two families of children enrolled in her classroom. In the fields of early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE), educators, such as Grace, must work to find ways to partner with parents and caregivers in an attempt to create a bridge between the student’s school and home. Throughout the process of creating this partnership, families and childcare providers must work together to build upon each child’s individual strengths and areas of need. Establishing partnerships with families enrolled in early childhood is important so that families view educators as positive collaborators from the onset of their child’s education. Moreover, families are the constant in a child’s life and their life- long educators. This perspective is important in having a family-centered approach because educators can understand and appreciate the wealth of experience and knowledge that a family has about their child that the educator does not (Dunst, 2002; Dunst & Espe-Sherwindt, 2016; Gonzalez, Moll,& Amanti, 2005; Tomasello, Manning, & Dulmus, 2010) . The roots of a family-centered approach can be traced to Bronfenbrenner (1979) . We recognize the child as a part of a family rather than just a part of a classroom and school. In using this approach, the educator and/or program acknowledges each family has strengths (Rouse, 2012; Swafford, Wingate, Zagumny, & Richey, 2015),“supports the abilities of families to meet the needs of their children,”(Allen, & Petr, 1998, p. 4) and makes adaptations within the classroom and/or program to reflect the values, goals, and culture of the family (Hamilton, Roach, & Riley, 2003) . Although decades of research support the use of a family-centered approach (Hiebert-Murphy, Trute, & Wright, 2011; Rouse, 2012), the process of implementing a family-centered approach may sometimes be unclear for early childhood educators (Vilaseca et al., 2019) . Both the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Division for Early Childhood (DEC, 2014) support the use of a family-centered approach through its standards, position statements, and recommended practices. In their 2009 position statement on developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs for children birth to age 8, NAEYC emphasizes that “development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts”(p. 13) and that educators should view each child through the sociocultural context of the child’s family. Additionally, one of the guidelines given for providing a developmentally appropriate classroom is that educators “establish reciprocal relationships with families”(p.22) . 24 Dimensions • Volume 48/Number 2 Similarly, the family strand of DEC’s Recommended Practices (2014) states “family practices refer to ongoing activities that promote the active participation of families in decision-making related to their child… or support families in achieving the goals they hold for their child and the other family members”(p. 10) . Further, DEC Recommended Practices identifies three themes:(a) family-centered practices,(b) family capacity-building practices, and (c) family

FAQs

Why do home visits matter for early childhood educators?

Home visits help establish partnerships and create a bridge between school and home while supporting child development in context. They also offer flexibility for families with scheduling challenges.

What is a family-centered approach in early childhood education?

It recognizes each child as part of a family, emphasizing strengths, shared values, and culturally responsive adaptations. Educators and programs support families in meeting children’s needs and collaborate on goals.

How are the Routines-Based Interview and Reciprocal Approach used?

The Routines-Based Interview supports partnering by focusing on daily routines and family priorities. The Reciprocal Approach emphasizes mutual relationships where educators and families work together to achieve outcomes for the child and the whole family.

Oct 15, 2026

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