Intended to educate school, business, and government leaders as well as the general public, this book provides a comprehensive overview of and practical guide to the family literacy movement. The book begins by tracing the history of family literacy as an idea, as individual programs, and as a public policy movement. Then it provides guidelines to state policymakers and program managers on how to anticipate and deal with the issues surrounding family literacy, and also offers suggestions for starting new family literacy programs tailored to specific communities. Finally, the book addresses key issues about the future of the family literacy movement. The book is divided into the following eight chapters: (1) "Family Literacy: The Need and the Promise"; (2) "Defining Family Literacy"; (3) "The History of Family Literacy"; (4) "The Research: How Do We Know If Family Literacy Works?"; (5) "Building a Community Family Literacy Program"; (6) "Developing a State Family Literacy Initiative"; (7) "Challenge for the Family Literacy Movement"; and (8) "The Future of Family Literacy." (Contains 76 references.) (MM)