If you are meeting with administration or staff from the local school district, talk about the importance of school readiness and positive attitudes toward learning, and how family literacy addresses those issues. Listen to what they have to say about their goals and their client needs, and make the connections between their programs and services, and what you are proposing.

If you are talking with social service providers, talk about the intergenerational nature of low literacy skills, and the implications that has for employment, training, and success for their clients and their clients' children.

Also, make sure you emphasize to agency staff that their perspective and expertise would be invaluable in establishing directions and goals for the proposed program. This would be a good time to give them the information package that you have prepared.

Getting parents involved
Lastly, you want to make this initial meeting an opportunity to make contact with parents and caregivers in your target group. Their input and participation in planning the program can't be overemphasized. Discuss with the community agency staff the importance of community-based programs, and how you think that parents and families are in the best position to identify the needs the proposed program should address. See if the agency would be willing to assemble a group of parents for you to talk to about the proposed program, and to hear their needs, suggestions, and ideas.

Be careful not to be too over-zealous in this first meeting, or to inundate agency staff with information. You want to listen and learn about their organization, you want to make the connection between their objectives and family literacy, and to find an opportunity for parental input into program planning and delivery. The idea is to get them interested; and if they are, the planning meeting or focus group will be the place to further develop the partnership.