Ingham Healthy

Families

History: Why Healthy Families America?

Michigan Home Visiting Initiative Exploration & Planning Tool (Fall 2013)

Ingham County was home to four evidence-based prevention models – all of which were operating at full enrollment.

Programs included: Maternal Infant Health Program Early Head Start Nurse Family Partnership Healthy Start

Healthy Families America was the only Michigan approved home visiting model that was not operating in Ingham County.

As a result of the Community Planning Tool, Ingham County selected the Healthy Families America model to utilize with MIECHV expansion funds.

Program Components Model: Healthy Families America (12 Critical

Elements) Curriculum: Parents as Teachers Funding: MIECHV Expansion Staffing: Ingham Intermediate

School District Families

Ingham Healthy Families Mission, Vision, GoalsVision: All children receive nurturing care from their family essential to leading a healthy and productive life.

Mission: To promote child well-being and prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation’s children through home visiting services.

Program Goals: Build and sustain community partnerships to systematically

engage overburdened families in home visiting services prenatally or at birth.

Cultivate and strengthen nurturing parent-child relationships.

Promote healthy childhood growth and development.

Enhance family functioning by reducing risk and building protective factors.

Critical Elements: Service InitiationInitiate Prenatally or At Birth (CE #1)

Target population

Relationships in the community

Standardized Assessment (CE #2) Used to identify those most in need and those most likely

to benefit

Offer Services Voluntarily & Creatively Reach Out (CE #3)

Families more likely to participate

Working with participants who need us to build their trust

Critical Elements: Service ContentOffer Intense, Long-term Services, Criteria for Increasing & Decreasing (CE #4)

Must be offered three to five years

Leveling system to determine intensity of services & family progress

Culturally Sensitive Services (CE #5) Training on unique characteristics

Staff-participant interaction

Sensitivity toward family values, beliefs & customs

Appropriate materials

Critical Elements: Service Content (cont)Focus on Parent as Well as Child (CE #6)

Review issues on assessment Develop Goal Plans – about the process Curriculum – PCI, Child Development, Health & Safety Developmental Screens – ASQ Follow-up with children suspected or identified with delays

Linked to Medical Provider & Other Services (CE #7)

Medical Home Immunizations Referrals

Limited Caseloads (CE #8) Sufficient time to connect with families

Critical Elements: StaffingPersonal Characteristics, Skills & Knowledge (CE #9)

Important for staff to build relationships with diverse populations

Basic Training & Role Specific Training (CE #10 & #11)

Orientation, role specific, wraparound & ongoing

Supervision (CE #12) Ongoing & effective, develop realistic & effective plans to

empower families, & express concerns & frustrations

Reflective, Clinical and Administrative

Strengths of Ingham Healthy FamiliesFlexibility:

Target population

Child development & parent-child interaction curricula

Staffing requirements

Comprehensive Assessment Services: Determine families most likely to benefit

Refer families to community resources

Used as Single Point of Entry

Creative Outreach Focus on building trust

Strengths of Ingham Healthy FamiliesService Intensity:

Weekly for a minimum of six months after birth Decreases as family competencies increase Offered three to five years

Focus on Parent as Well as the Child

Comprehensive Training: Parent Survey (Kempe/ACES Study) Integrated Strategies for Home Visitors Wraparound Training – Distance Learning

Accreditation/Fidelity

For Further Information

Healthy Families America: www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org/home/index.shtml

Michigan’s Home Visiting Initiative: http://bit.ly/MichiganHomeVisitationInitative

ACES Study: End It Now Video http://bit.ly/EndItNowACES