Família+ Co-Creating Family and Caregiver Engagement in a Digital Society

• In Event: Empowering parents and communities through education and technology

Proposal

This paper explores how co-creation and digital tools have enhanced family and caregiver engagement, drawing on the successful implementation of the Família+ program across diverse regions in Brazil. Família+ is an innovative initiative of Espaço Àra Educação, supported by the Van Leer Foundation, designed to involve families and caregivers in early childhood education, utilizing digital engagement as a way to bridging gaps in communication and support within schools and parents. In today’s increasingly connected world, leveraging digital tools in education has become a central strategy for bringing parents closer.
Família+ addresses the challenge of integrating families as active participants in creating healthier environments for children's development. The program aligns with Brazil's Law No. 14,819, which formalizes the National Policy for Psychosocial Support in School Communities. This legislation highlights the need for comprehensive support not only for students but also for educators and caregivers, acknowledging the pivotal role families play in their child education. By using digital interventions, Família+ enhances this legislative framework by making family engagement more accessible, sustainable, and scalable, fostering balanced, inclusive educational environments.
Aligned with this policy, the Brazilian National Common Core Curriculum and the National Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education emphasize the importance of family-involved education. Central to this is the recognition that digital tools—such as WhatsApp—can support caregivers to improve home environments and have better quality interactions with their children. By integrating digital interventions into the program’s core methodology, Família+ provides caregivers with the tools to foster healthy, supportive environments for their children.
The program’s success lies in its co-creation process, which involves local stakeholders such as parents, educators, and the municipal government. This co-creation ensures that digital tools are used to respond to the unique needs of each community, from rural to urban settings. The use of WhatsApp—a widely accessible platform—has proven particularly effective in low-income areas where internet access may be limited, but mobile technology is prevalent. Through WhatsApp, Família+ delivers weekly nudges that engage caregivers in actionable, bite-sized behavioral insights, making digital content both relevant and easy to apply in their everyday lives.
The initial implementation of Família+ in Recife and Cascavel (Northeast and South Brazil) demonstrated how digital tools can strengthen family-school relationships and facilitate behavioral change. WhatsApp became a primary medium for caregiver engagement, delivering timely, evidence-based nudges designed to improve parenting practices and communication skills. In 2023, over 5,000 children and their families benefited from this structured, weekly content. A notable outcome in the municipalities was the strengthened connection between families and schools facilitated by digital interventions. Despite initial challenges, including logistical barriers and low engagement at first, the program’s use of digital nudges with personal reinforcements contributed to positive behavioral shifts. A quantitative analysis across three groups—control, Simple Família+ (one weekly message), and Complete Família+ (three weekly messages)—showed promising trends in parenting practices and participation, even with modest statistical outcomes. The digital delivery of the program made engagement scalable, enabling consistent outreach even with more distant parents. Additionally, in Recife, Família+ became part of the municipality's policy network, further solidifying its impact and sustainability.
In Ceará, the Família+ program expanded its focus to include caregiver well-being. Implemented through the education network across 79 municipalities in collaboration with the Mais Infância Ceará (Department of Social Protection), the program adopted a holistic approach, recognizing that the well-being of caregivers is crucial for fostering a healthy environment for child development. This expansion was supported by the Van Leer Foundation as part of a coalition with the Fundação Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal and Porticus, highlighting the strength of public-private partnerships in scaling early childhood development initiatives. The program’s interventions in Ceará prioritized providing caregivers with tools for self-care, stress management, and emotional resilience. This was achieved through a combination of group meetings and digital nudges delivered via WhatsApp to parents and caregivers of children aged 4 and 5, as well as conversation circles specifically designed for mothers. The WhatsApp messages offered not only practical parenting advice but also encouraged caregivers to take time for themselves, practice mindfulness, and connect with peers through these conversation circles.
The upcoming expansion of the Família+ program to Rio Grande do Sul highlights how digital tools can be adapted to support caregivers facing emerging challenges, such as those impacted by climate disasters. Recently, Rio Grande do Sul experienced its worst climate disaster in over 80 years, with the federal government declaring a state of calamity. In response, the established capacity of the state's Early Childhood Development program played a crucial role in supporting families with young children affected by the crisis. The expansion of Família+ to municipalities in the state aims to integrate strategies for caregiver well-being, psychosocial support, and comprehensive child development, while also providing ongoing assistance to former participants of the Home Visitation Program, Primeira Infância Melhor (PIM). In October 2024, a co-creation process will be initiated, led by the Department of Education in partnership with the Departments of Social Assistance and Health. This intersectoral collaboration will pave the way for the pilot implementation of the Família+ RS program in 2025.
As digital interventions become increasingly central to educational and social support systems, Família+ offers a scalable, adaptable model for leveraging technology to engage families and caregivers. The success of Família+ in Recife, Cascavel, and Ceará highlights its potential to extend beyond education, providing digital solutions that can be applied to social assistance programs and community-based services. The upcoming expansion to Rio Grande do Sul, where digital tools will be used to support caregivers impacted by climate disasters, illustrates how digital interventions can be adapted to meet emerging challenges across different contexts.
The combination of behavioral science, co-creation, and digital innovation positions Família+ as a pioneering model for family engagement. By embracing the potential of digital technology, Família+ creates inclusive, scalable interventions that improve educational outcomes, enhance caregiver well-being, and foster stronger community connections. As the program continues to evolve, it offers a roadmap for integrating digital tools into family engagement strategies across diverse socio-economic contexts, both in Brazil and globally.

Authors

• ana colagrossi, Espaço Àra Educação

• Barbara Barros Barbosa, Barros Barbosa Consultoria