Most parent involvement programs are based on one of two implicit models: the parent education model, in which parents are offered lectures and information about children's learning and development, and the parent support or parent empowerment model, which recognizes that parents have specialized knowledge of their children and assumes that if teachers take this knowledge seriously, teaching can become more responsive to children's needs. Most new parent support formats have originated in conjunction with early childhood education. The National Academy of Early Childhood Programs (NAECP) has developed guidelines for parent involvement, but the actual amount of communication that takes place between parents and teachers is considerably less than that set forth in the guidelines. The challenges involved with encouraging parent involvement concern ways to individualize programs for parents that are actually put into practice, ways to reconcile trends toward parent empowerment with teachers' desires for increased professionalism, and ways to respond to recent demographic changes in families that limit parental involvement. Educators must find ways to support parents' care and concern, even when parents cannot be actively involved. (MM)