1. Ingham Healthy Families

2. 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.

3. Program Components  Model: Healthy Families America (12 Critical Elements)  Curriculum: Parents as Teachers  Funding: MIECHV Expansion  Staffing: Ingham Intermediate School District  Families

4. Ingham Healthy Families Mission, Vision, Goals Vision: 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.

5. Critical Elements: Service Initiation Initiate 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

6. Critical Elements: Service Content Offer 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

7. 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

8. Critical Elements: Staffing Personal 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

9. Strengths of Ingham Healthy Families Flexibility:  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

10. Strengths of Ingham Healthy Families Service 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

11. For Further Information  Healthy Families America: www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org/home/index.shtml www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org/home/index.shtml  Michigan’s Home Visiting Initiative: http://bit.ly/MichiganHomeVisitationInitative http://bit.ly/MichiganHomeVisitationInitative  ACES Study: End It Now Video http://bit.ly/EndItNowACES http://bit.ly/EndItNowACES