Tips for Using the FEM Toolkit

The Family Economic Mobility (FEM) Toolkit shares information, ideas, inspiration, and hands-on resources to help Head Start staff partner with families on their journeys toward economic mobility across a variety of situations.

Section Overview and Purpose

In this section...	You can...
Tips for Using the FEM Toolkit	Learn more about the structure of the Toolkit, and get tips on where to start based on your role, where you are, and what you want to accomplish.
Introduction to Family Economic Mobility	Learn about what family economic mobility means, consider your role and mindset in supporting families, and get tips on talking about money with families.
Family Economic Mobility and the Family Partnership Process	Explore how discussing and pursuing economic mobility can be seamlessly integrated into the phases of the family partnership process. Learn about assessing, communicating, and goal-setting.
Family Economic Mobility Goal Areas	Learn about goal areas like income, spending, saving, credit, career planning, and more. Get resources to help families work toward their goals.
Family Economic Mobility Program Planning for Directors and Managers	Understand how family economic mobility is aligned with the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework and Head Start Program Performance Standards. Get tips for building staff capacity, and tools for developing and evaluating program goals.

Look for Icons to Find the Resources You Need

Throughout the Toolkit, you will find a variety of information and resources focused on specific types of support you may want, as well as resources you may want to share — training to tools, conversation starters, real family stories, and more.

Look for these icons next to materials to help easily determine the purpose of a resource.

Ideas for Action

Learn from examples and models that help build skills and improve interactions.

Explore action steps families can take, along with tools to build your knowledge or to share as you work alongside families.

Conversation Cues

Get tips for family conversations.

Discover ideas for building stronger relationships with families by using these suggestions to start productive conversations.

Inspiration

Explore stories from other programs that offer insights.

Hear from other programs about their approach to family economic mobility through community partnerships, program planning, and collaborations with families.

Reminders

Get quick reminders of what’s important.

Find these handy reminders throughout the Toolkit about approaches and practices that can help you partner successfully with families in making progress toward their goals.