Heightened attention must be paid to developing systems of care over the period of early family formation. Successful programs understand the need to facilitate positive interaction between parent, child, and caregiver. Well-designed models focus on the content and quality of care as well as service availability. Sensitive to culture and ethnicity. To assure their relevance to the community they wish to serve, model programs recognize cultural values in their design and offerings.
Staff reflect the ethnicity of the community, and the community takes part in planning the services.
Model programs focus their energies on assuring improved outcomes for young children and their families, achieving measurable results concerning the well-being of children and families. Many of the model programs presented below as examples have evolved over a period of time. Others are in their infancy. However, they all incorporate most of the principles outlined here. The co-location of day care, health care, adult education, and job training for parents sets the stage for integrated and continuous programming that aims to meet the needs of both parents and young children in a single site.