Participatory Governance in Action: Lessons for Cultivating Strong Stakeholder Relationships with Parents and FamiliesLessons from Third Sector's Work With Early Childhood Participatory Governance Structures
In my experience engaging with various Participatory Governance structures in early care and education, I have learned a crucial takeaway: when families are treated as partners rather than merely recipients, early childhood systems become more ripe for change. That’s the premise of our close collaboration with the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) Parent Cabinet. Since 2023, I have partnered with the OEC to enhance the experience of Parent Cabinet Members (PCMs), specifically by including parents’ voices directly in the decisionmaking processes that impact their children and families.
Last year, we shared the steps we took to strengthen how subcommittees operate, clarifying roles and creating improved feedback loops between parents and the agency. This year, as we scale our work to other States, like South Carolina, with its initial design for the Spartanburg Children’s Cabinet, the dynamics and implications of capacity building around cabinet structure look very different, but the foundational principles remain the same.
Learn more below about how we facilitate shared input between agency staff and parents, thereby strengthening outcomes, building more responsive systems, and deepening trust with families.
Lessons Learned: Engaging Parent and Families
1. Ensure Those Most Impacted Shape Decisions
The most immediate challenge I noticed was clear gaps in who was involved in conversations about new programs, initiatives, and policy changes. Third Sector encourages the OEC to create intentional spaces where parents can share input and be recognized as partners, not just reviewers. We facilitate direct conversations between OEC division staff and PCMs to build comfort and connection.
We’ve seen this same need for intentional representation across various communities; participation does not happen by default; it must be embedded within the initial design. In our work with Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM), for example, we recommend that it reserve one-third of its cabinet seats for community members representing children and families, ensuring lived experiences shape decisions.
2. Support Parents in Ways That Work for Them
Beneath the surface of simply involving parents are the logistics of how to engage them in ways that work for them. Parents juggle work, child care, community, and civic responsibilities, making traditional meeting schedules a barrier to meaningful participation for PCMs. Through my engagement with PCMs, I quickly realized that creating this space required adapting communication and engagement methods to better accommodate their realities.
We adapted engagement strategies to fit parents’ schedules by offering flexible meeting times, asynchronous feedback options, and simplified materials for independent review. We also facilitated collaboration between OEC divson staff and PCMs through small-group discussions and structured input sessions that supported open, comfortable participation. These approaches surfaced new insights and ideas that directly shaped additional design options while modeling accessible ways for parents to stay engaged.
3. Provide Parents with the Right Tools
Another core challenge is the disconnect between parents’ lived experience and their policy knowledge. While parents deeply understand their children’s needs, the technical details of policies make it difficult for them to grasp program changes. For example, one parent found securing specialized child care overwhelming because navigating program specifics was overwhelming, demonstrating how information gaps hinder families from getting appropriate care and advocating for system improvements.
To address this gap, Third Sector advised developing accessible tools, such as one-pagers and FAQs, for parents’ outreach, thereby strengthening their role as connectors between OEC and local families. Similarly, in Spartanburg, we encouraged the Children’s Cabinet to prioritize stronger coordination and centralize communication to address families’ struggles with fragmented information systems.
4. Build Capacity on Both Sides
Effective Participatory Governance requires shared power built into the design. What distinguishes Third Sector’s approach is the belief that shared power requires preparation on all sides. For example, when the OEC was looking to launch a new initiative, we ensured PCMs were present in all phases of the work, sometimes revising the workplan to identify entry points for PCMs and requiring division staff to involve PCMs as decision-makers.
Third Sector advised Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) with a similar approach to design effective onboarding for its Community Representatives to support its cabinet. This requires SAM and other cabinet members to intentionally prepare community representatives for engagement. By combining community capacity-building with organizational change, participatory governance becomes shared leadership, making power-sharing standard practice.
Participatory governance is an ongoing practice that deepens over time. As we continue to partner with communities in Connecticut, South Carolina, and beyond, the question is no longer whether families should be included in decisionmaking; it’s how to design systems intentionally so that community voices meaningfully shape those decisions.
Parents’ lived experiences challenge assumptions, surface blind spots, and push systems to respond in ways data alone cannot. When paired with structures designed for shared power, participatory governance becomes a driver of more responsive, equitable, and effective systems.
Exploring how to build or grow a participatory governance structure in your state or community? We welcome the opportunity to connect and support your work. Please contact our Early Childhood Practice Area at klee@thirdsectorcap.org.
