The history of the family literacy movement in North America began with the publication of D. Taylor's (1983) influential book on this subject and the subsequent creation of the National Center for Family Literacy in 1986. Family literacy was pushed forward by concerns that the education system was not meeting the needs of educationally disadvantaged families (Thomas, 2001). As discussed in the previous chapter, The United Nations' declaration of 1990 as International Year of Literacy brought attention to the state of literacy programming while the government provided funding for launching new literacy initiatives and research projects both at the local and national level.

In 1991, the National Literacy Act was passed in the United States to encourage the development of literacy programs in a family context (United States Congress, 1991). That same year, the International Reading Association formed the Commission on Family Literacy to help disseminate information on programs and to study issues in the field (L. M. Morrow & Paratore, 1993). In the last decade, the number of American family literacy programs has increased rapidly. L. M. Morrow, Tracey and Maxwell (1995) offer a discussion of over one hundred of these programs, including Even Start, which is currently the largest initiative in the United States. The Even Start Family Literacy Program model, initiated in 1986, serves to help parents become full partners in the education of their children. This large federal investment is a unified design which integrates literacy training for parents, parenting education and early childhood education to help children from disadvantaged homes "start even" with other families (McKee & Rhett, 1995).

D. Taylor proposed a Declaration of Principles for family literacy practice in 1997, after extensive international consultation with family literacy researchers, practitioners and families, beginning at the International Forum on Family Literacy in Tucson, Arizona in 1994 (D. Taylor, 1997). One goal of the Declaration was the development of policy and practice guidelines for literacy organizations which recognizes family knowledge and problem solving. A total of 126 principles are included under the following seven categories: family; language and literacy; research and program development; ethics; pedagogy; program assessment; and guidelines for educators, policy makers and funding agencies (Thomas, 2001). These principles support families, recognize diversity and promote social justice and equality. By challenging the deficit-driven family literacy program models, D. Taylor (1997) redefines "the relationship of literacy to poverty, the notion of socioeconomic status and the concept of 'disadvantaged' families" (p.3).