The purpose of Even Start Family Literacy is to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of low-income families through the integration of the following four components into a unified family literacy program for parents and children, primarily from birth through age seven.

• Childhood Education (age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences),
• Adult Literacy (parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency),
• Parenting Education (training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children), and
• Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children.

All four of these components must be present in each Even Start program in order to meet the goals of the program, which are to:

• help parents improve their literacy or basic educational skills,
• help parents become full partners in educating their children, and
• assist children in reaching their full potential as learners.