200 Bowdoin Street, Dorchester, MA 02122

Early Childhood Family Engagement

Children and their families thrive when they are embedded in communities of support.

FNC offers home visits for families with infants and toddlers, parent-child and parent-baby groups, and child development screenings and service referral. Through all of this work, we create connections among neighborhood partners’ services, programs, and activities.  

Our early childhood family engagement programs build parents’ knowledge of healthy child development, strengthen children’s social-emotional and school readiness, and connect families to resources and each other for greater support. Learn more about specific programs below.

Welcome Baby is a single but powerful home visit that celebrates the birth of a baby,  promotes healthy child development and school readiness through reading and talking, and connects families to resources to give each child the best start possible. Visitors bring a beautiful gift bag filled with a handmade blanket, baby essentials, books, and information about FNC and community programs. 

Visits are available in English, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese.  Our team stays connected to families following the visit, providing additional resources and promoting program opportunities.  

Celebrating nearly 60 years of success, ParentChild+ is a nationwide program which provides intensive home visiting for parents and their toddlers, and also supports Home-Based Childcare Providers to deliver quality education and care.  

FNC delivers both models in Boston, serving nearly 90 families annually, with twice weekly home visits for 46 weeks; and supporting a growing number of Home-Based Child Care Providers. FNC offers ParentChild+ services in English, Spanish, Haitan Creole, and Vietnamese.

Playgroups for caregivers and their children together take place at all FNC locations. Led by skilled early childhood educators, these groups offer families a chance to connect and socialize together. Parents learn how best to support their child’s learning through play. Groups for different ages and communities are offered. 

Upcoming Playgroups

FNC supports parents of young children to understand and recognize the signs of healthy development. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire pinpoints developmental progress. FNC works with families to complete the ASQ in a family- and child-friendly atmosphere, to remove stigma and reduce fear.

Families in need of additional support for their child’s development are referred to Early Intervention services and beyond. Within our own programs, our experienced staff provide support for parents and children of development, whether that means modifying an activity or creating a quiet space to meet a particular child’s needs.

To schedule an ASQ screening with an FNC staff member, please fill out our interest form. You can also complete the ASQ screening yourself online, either in English or in Spanish.

The Boston Family Engagement Network (BFEN) is a citywide coalition of agencies which provide family support services and connect caregivers to programs that promote children’s healthy development and family wellbeing. FNC is proud to serve as lead agent for this vibrant community of parents, caregivers, community partners, early educators, and family support workers. Embedded in neighborhoods and powered by the leadership of parents, each BFEN agency offers a distinctively local response to the needs and concerns of local families. Find your local Neighborhood Center here.

Looking for Family Support?

Fill out our online interest form to connect to early childhood family engagement programs in your neighborhood.

Interest Form for CaregiversReferral Form for Providers