ECFE Professional Community Engagement

Don't Forget we have ECFE videos to help you market your program!

Grow Together with ECFE. Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) offers caregivers of young children a space to connect with other families and participate in activities that support both parenting and children's learning and development. View videos available in English, Spanish, Somali, and Hmong to learn more.

• English - 90 Sec Grow Together with ECFE (90 seconds)
• English – 60 Sec Grow Together with ECFE (60 seconds)
• English – 30 Sec Grow Together with ECFE (30 seconds)
• English – 15 Sec Grow together with ECFE (15 seconds)
• Spanish – 90 Sec Crezcamos juntos con ECFE (90 segundos)
• Spanish – 60 Sec Crezcamos juntos con ECFE (60 segundos)
• Spanish – 30 Sec Crezcamos juntos con ECFE (30 segundos)
• Spanish – 15 Sec Crezcamos juntos con ECFE (15 segundos)
• Hmong – 90 Sec Loj hlob ua ke nrog ECFE (90 nqi)
• Hmong – 60 Sec Loj hlob ua ke nrog ECFE (60 vib nas this)
• Hmong – 30 Sec Loj hlob ua ke nrog ECFE (30 vib nas this)
• Hmong – 15 Sec Loj hlob ua ke nrog ECFE (15 vib nas this)
• Somali – 90 Sec Si wadajir ah ula kor ECFE (90 ilbiriqsi)
• Somali – 60 Sec Si wadajir ah ula kor ECFE (60 ilbiriqsi)
• Somali – 30 Sec Si wadajir ah ula kor ECFE (30 ilbiriqsi)
• Somali – 15 Sec Si wadajir ah ula kor ECFE (15 ilbiriqsi)

Please share this with your networks! Feel free to use the language and images below when sharing.

Help spread the word about Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) in your community.

Community partners such as childcare providers, libraries, clinics, county agencies and more can now order posters and rack cards to promote ECFE.

These free materials are available in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong.

Learn more and order.

What is Help Me Connect?

Help Me Connect is a resource portal that helps expecting and parenting families of young children—and those working with them—find services and programs across Minnesota.

Learn More

Join monthly technical assistance sessions to learn practical tips and tools for getting the most out of the site. Sessions take place on the second Wednesday of each month from 12–1 p.m. Register online.

This month, Help Me Connect demonstrated how to create an account and use the Save to My Favorites feature, highlighting recent updates.

Visit HelpMeConnectMN.org for more information and training videos.

Watch this video to learn how to navigate the Help Me Connect page.

https://www.zoomgov.com/rec/share/3tfVXzaDzfXrr0qeTM7cCWmFh73q0tkkKsnhJq5rBX8YT0tLjz8p27dI_-NWb6eQ.NZlUKyZDCy3sywep

Passcode: 9FpV$XTQ

DCYF Events Calendar

Stay connected to upcoming opportunities across Minnesota’s early childhood system through the DCYF Events Calendar. This calendar highlights trainings, meetings, technical assistance sessions, and other events relevant to ECFE professionals, partners, and community members.

Click on the link to find important dates, plan ahead, and stay informed about statewide and local activities that support your work with families.

DCYF Events Calendar | Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families

The Licensed Parent Educator Map is an interactive tool that shows the number of Parent Educators in ECFE programs across Minnesota.

Review your district on the map and let us know if the number of Parent Educators listed needs to be updated.

View the Parent Education Map here:

Workbook: PE Map

Technical Assistance Call Recording and Slides

ECFE: Parent Education Licensure - YouTube

This is the video recording of the Technical Assistance call held on March 4, 2026. The purpose of the call was to share creative ideas and strategies for addressing Parent Education staffing challenges that many districts are experiencing.

You can also view the PowerPoint slides from the session here:

https://minnesotadcyf.us.engagementhq.com/30434/widgets/108529/documents/75110

ECFE Wiki

The purpose of this wiki is to serve as a sharing platform for individuals who work with parents, as well as those preparing to enter the field. Like Wikipedia, the strength and value of a wiki depend on the active participation and quality contributions of its users.

While the information on this site is no longer actively updated, it serves as an archive of important ECFE materials and resources developed over the years.

ECFE professionals can access the archived materials at http://parented.wikidot.com/start

The Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning Curriculum for Parent Education Programs

In the Domains of . . .

• Parent Development,
• Parent-Child Relationships,
• Early Childhood Development,
• Family Development, and
• Culture & Community

. . . defines and places parameters around the core content – what we teach – in parent education. It is not intended to be a prescribed curriculum. It is based on the assumption that parent educators should have autonomy and exercise creativity in determining the specific and unique needs and expectations of each parent and parent group with whom they work and in designing curriculum and selecting resources to best meet their needs and expectations. The Framework provides a foundation and process for doing this work.

The impetus for developing the Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework (PECCF) and the process for using it were strongly influenced by:

1. the growing emphasis on accountability in education promoted by public policymakers, other funders, and the general public;
2. the desire to add standardization to the field; and
3. the need to provide for a new level of clarity, transparency, and professionalism in what should be taught in parent education.

The Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework is expected to be an evolving document that is accessible to all in the field. This document is intended to enhance both the content and the process of delivering parent education. In order to have the highly skilled professionals needed to do this important work, resources such as this and the educational preparation that supports their use by these professionals are essential.

Here is the link to the document on the MNAFEE website: Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework

Open Office Hour: Planning ECFE Classes Summary

Date: January 22, 2026 (1:00-2:00pm)

Audience: ECFE Educators

Key Take Aways: Key takeaways from the discussion included the importance of using attendance data and preregistration, when available, to decide whether classes should continue, pause, or pivot. Programs shared that consistency in class day, time, and location supports attendance, while changes often lead to drop off. Late afternoon classes before dinner tend to work better than later evening options, which can conflict with bedtime and staffing capacity. Participants emphasized prioritizing age specific classes first, then adding topic based, multi age, or parent focused options, and using one time events and community partnerships to reach new families. There was also shared recognition that educators are holding space for families experiencing heightened stress and uncertainty, and that flexibility, responsiveness, and alignment with district guidance are essential when navigating sensitive topics.

Planning Considerations

• Programs balance consistency with flexibility in class planning
• Clear thresholds help decide when to continue or pause classes
• Small and rural programs use different planning approaches
• Timing strongly affects attendance, especially late afternoon options
• Evening classes can strain families and staff
• Attendance data and family feedback both inform decisions
• Programs are expanding beyond traditional weekly classes
• Onetime events are effective for outreach
• Community partnerships increase engagement
• Topic based and parent focused classes are popular
• Class planning responds to changing family needs and data

Class Ideas

• Active Adventures with open gym, open swim, or skating
• Late afternoon classes before dinner
• Non separating evening family time
• Topic based ECFE classes with focused parent discussion
• Parent only options for older families
• Fun parenting classes like Caffeine and Connection
• Free drop in options such as story time or large motor play
• One-time themed family classes
• Seasonal family events
• Family engagement nights with meals
• Culturally grounded parent gatherings
• Values based parenting conversations