As part of a larger Australian study on family literacy, this study obtained information about a wide range of family or community literacy initiatives currently in operation in Australia. The study was interested in how the language and literacy learning of students from a variety of schools and communities was influenced by the involvement of parents, caregivers or tutors. Advertisements were placed in newspapers, press releases were sent to major newspapers and radio and television stations, and major organizations, government departments, and institutions were contacted directly for information about parent/community literacy programs or initiatives. Over 380 responses were received, and information from over 250 programs or initiatives were added to a database. Overall, six major issues emerged: (1) most family and community literacy initiatives had not been evaluated beyond simple surveys of participants and the recording of anecdotal comments; (2) evidence concerning the impact of programs on student outcome was limited; (3) initiatives varied greatly in terms of content, process, participant control, and purposes; (4) many initiatives were "tokenistic" and paid little attention to the needs of communities, focusing instead on the needs of the school; (5) many programs that began with a concern for the support of children's literacy developed a secondary interest in the support of adult literacy learners; and (6) when programs were evaluated, some had the potential to lead to the development of significant partnerships between the home and the school. Findings suggest the need for more intensive evaluation of family and community literacy initiatives, and programs need to initiated by community groups as well as educational organizations to share responsibility, control, and ownership. (Contains 25 references and 5 tables of data.) (RS)