- | Report
In May 2020, the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) received an award through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to support Maternal and Child Telehealth (TH) Capacity for Public Health Systems. The first step in this process was to rapidly understand immediate needs of jurisdictions by gathering information directly from program representatives about current program changes and implementation of TH solutions in response to evolving population needs, as well as jurisdiction capacity to sustain and/or expand the TH system to maintain MCH services and systems. This brief summarizes themes emerging from analysis of the key informant interviews. (author summary)
- | Brief
This brief outlines trends in salaries for home visitors and supervisors, across Illinois Department for Human Services Division of Early Childhood (IDHS DEC) funded home visiting programs. (author summary).
- | Brief
This brief summarizes findings on program management practices from the Home Visiting Career Trajectories project—a national descriptive study of home visiting staff experiences and perceptions of the field from 2018. (author summary)
- | Blog
This commentary offers strategies to states for utilizing MIECHV funds to strengthen services for children and caregivers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- | Planning Tool
This needs assessment is an update to the 2010 needs assessment initiated by MIECHV to examine how the current system of home visitation services in New Hampshire meets the needs of the community and identify gaps in services. Findings from the New Hampshire Home Visitor Survey, which aimed to capture the perspective of home visitors regarding the needs of New Hampshire families, as well as understand the home visitors’ perceived attitudes regarding the benefits and challenges of working in the field, are presented. (author summary)
- | Article
Purpose – This evaluation describes efforts taken by MIECHV administrators and staff during the pandemic using data collected from 60 MIECHV staff surveys and nine statewide weekly focus groups.
Description – The Florida Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Initiative funds perinatal home
visiting for pregnant women and families with infants throughout the state. Florida MIECHV has shown resilience to disasters and times of crises in the past, while generating a culture of adaptation and continuous quality improvement among local implementing agencies. Florida MIECHV responded to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis within the first few days of the first reported case in Florida by providing guidance on virtual home visits and working remotely.
Assessment – Findings highlight the role of administrative leadership and communication, staf willingness/morale, logistical considerations, and the needs of enrolled families who face hardships during the pandemic such as job loss, limited supplies, food insecurity, technology limitations, and stress. Home visitors support enrolled families by connecting them with resources, providing public health education and delivering evidence-based home visiting curricula virtually. They also recognized the emotional burden surrounding COVID-19 impacts and uncertainties along with achieving work-life balance by caring for their own children.
Conclusion- This evaluation helped in understanding the impact of the pandemic on this maternal and child health program and fundamentals of transition to virtual home visiting services. Virtual home visiting appears to be feasible and provides an essential connection to supports for families who may not otherwise have the means or knowledge to access them. (author abstract)
- | Article
Home visitation programs are recognized as a preferred model for delivering services to children, parents, and families identified as at-risk. This study compares newly hired home visitors’ (N = 82) perceptions of their job readiness, initial training, supervision and support, commitment to the intervention model, and job satisfaction from ten sites: Nurse–Family Partnership (NFP; three sites), Home-based Early Head Start (hereafter EHS-HBO; two sites), and Healthy Family America (HFA; five sites) programs. Data were collected between 1999 and 2004. Results indicated that NFP home visitors had bachelor’s degrees in nursing, while HFA and EHS home visitors were largely paraprofessionals. NFP and HFA home visitors reported the highest scores on job satisfaction. There were no significant differences between programs on frequency or quality of supervision or commitment to the intervention model. Qualitative data indicated a need for more initial training on challenging topics, a greater attention to supervision and support, clearer articulation of the intervention model, and issues related to job satisfaction. Implications for improving the experiences of home visitors are discussed in the context of current training and supervision practices. (author abstract)
- | Blog
An invitation to join a home visiting summit session called “Vocation-Vision-Voice: Strategies in Professional Development” that explores how supervisory leadership invested the professional development of staff promotes long term program engagement from staff and families. Using a case study of an Early Head Start Home-based program in Santa Clara, California serving a Latino community with fully bilingual staff, we’ll explore how supervisory leadership invested in ongoing professional development of staff promotes long term program engagement for both staff and families. (author summary)
- | Report
This report presents the first findings from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE), the legislatively mandated national evaluation of MIECHV. (author summary)
- | Fact/Tip Sheet
This resource highlights supervisor staff support strategies, including ways to show appreciation, promote self-care and prepare for supervision sessions.