Family literacy programs must acknowledge the family as the primary place of learning, and developers of family literacy programs and curricula must focus on the family unit as a whole, building upon the cultural and knowledge capital of the entire family and acknowledging gender and age power relationships within the family. Educators must redefine the relationship of literacy to poverty and socioeconomic status and acknowledge that families who lack English proficiency can offer other family members their languages, multiple approaches to literacy, and ability to deal with life events. Most educational approaches to family literacy recognize parents as a child's most important teachers but fail to recognize the value of literacy transmission from adult to adult, child to adult, or sibling to sibling that occurs in various community cultures. When designing programs and curricula, family literacy practitioners must realize that power issues, particularly those that are education related, can influence a family's literacy practices. Practitioners must also determine how the workplace fits into families' lives. Family literacy programs must be centered in the context of family literacy's real-world application in the home, and they must draw on the experiences and strengths of the families being served. (MN)