early childhood education home visits

Early Learning

Home visits are effective. here’s why they still make some teachers uneasy., by rachel burstein     feb 19, 2020.

Andy Vinnikov / Shutterstock

This story is part of an EdSurge Research series about the early childhood education workforce.

“Sit near the door. Make sure your car has plenty of gas. Park so you can get out. Don’t wear something that can be a choking hazard like a lanyard.” Macy Jones, the Head Start director for the Alexander County Schools in North Carolina rattles off a list of pointers she gives her staff before they begin their home visits each year. Jones has been concerned about keeping the 37 teachers, assistants and home advocates in her program safe on home visits since she assumed her position seven years ago.

In the past few years, her concerns about staff safety during home visits have increased as she has heard more reports of violent crime in the rural county. “Here we are in 2019, and we don’t know what we’re walking into, or when somebody may show up that came to do harm to somebody in the home. So I’m having conversations now that I never had to have in the ‘80s with folks.” Jones says.

Jones, who attended Head Start herself when she was a child and who has worked at Head Start for over three decades views home visits as critical to the success of both staff and students in the program. But without a full-scale training program and set of comprehensive safety procedures, she isn’t convinced her team should be required to visit the homes of their students. “Head Start really needs to start rethinking the whole home visit requirement,” she says, referencing the federal program that provides high-quality early childhood education to more than one million children from low-income families each year.

For now, Jones lets her staff decide whether to conduct home visits, emphasizing the power of these visits for students. “I tell them they can go somewhere else to meet the parents if they don’t feel safe visiting the family’s home. I say, ‘You don’t have to go...but just remember who doesn’t have an option—those babies we let off the bus every single day. They don’t have an option. So if you can do it, go to that home because those kids’ eyes light up whenever their teachers come see them at their home.’”

Why Conduct Home Visits?

The home visits conducted by Jones’ staff, which occur twice a year, are central to the Head Start model of serving two generations—both children and their families. The visits are mandated by Head Start and complement the work that teachers are doing in the classroom by providing an opportunity for teachers to speak informally with parents or other family members they may not routinely see.

Home visits are also mandated for Head Start’s home-based programs, which typically serve children from birth through age five, including those who are either too young to enroll in preschool, are on a waitlist for a preschool spot or from families who prefer to have their children learn at home. For home-based programs, the weekly home visit of 90 minutes is designed to cultivate parents as teachers. A special role at Head Start, the “parent educator,” visits the homes to introduce parents to the science of early learning and provide specific strategies and activities for advancing children’s brain development. Such intensive home visiting programs also offer a chance for parent educators to identify needed areas of intervention and to identify resources for families.

Head Start isn’t the only preschool program that uses home visits as a way of building community and allowing teachers and programs to help meet students and families where they are—quite literally. Home visits are an increasingly accepted part of early childhood education best practice. In addition to early childhood programs, a handful of K-12 districts are also building home visits into their model. Still, Head Start is the largest early childhood education entity conducting home visits. According to data from the National Head Start Association, Head Start staff members conducted approximately 4.6 million home visits in the 2018-19 school year, including families in both center-based and home-based programs.

There’s good reason for Head Start and other programs to dedicate resources to home visits. Research shows that home visits have a range of benefits, whether they’re designed to supplement preschool attendance or to stimulate learning in the home. Although it looked specifically at elementary school children, a 2015 study from Johns Hopkins University showed that absences declined by about a quarter among students in the Washington, D.C., public schools after a teacher conducted a home visit. The study also found positive correlations between home visits and student achievement. Other studies show that regular home visits from nurses or trained parent educators are correlated with positive effects on children’s neural development, even when those babies and children don’t have child care outside the home.

Home Visits Strengthen Relationships

These outcomes are familiar to Allison Edwards, a lead teacher at a Head Start-affiliated preschool in Tulsa, Okla. Edwards’ preschool is run by CAP Tulsa, a non-profit organization. Edwards says that home visits are important for establishing relationships with her students, especially when they occur early in the school year when children are new to her classroom or to school more generally. “[The kids] want to show us their room. And they want to show us their animals a lot of times, or their favorite toy,” she says.

Equally important, home visits help Edwards better understand the children she teaches so she can develop stronger relationships with them in the classroom. She might meet a grandparent who never comes to school but who is important in a child’s life. A child might show her a favorite toy that Edwards can reference during the school day. She might see bugs and realize that a rash that she was concerned about likely wasn’t a rash at all and that she should make remember to follow-up with family support services.

Edwards agrees with Jones on the value of home visits for children. She laughs as she recounts a recent breakfast conversation among the three year-olds she teaches. Edwards had visited one child at his home the day before and the other preschoolers demanded to know why their teacher hadn’t come to their homes as well. “You have to work through all that with them and say, ‘Well, you know, maybe next time I’ll come to your house. We’ll see,’” says Edwards.

But for all their benefits, home visits can present challenges for early childhood educators. At the very least, Edwards says that it can be “an awkward thing to go visit somebody in their home, especially when we’ve only known them for such a short time.” Many of Edwards’ students come from families who have had negative prior experiences with governmental agencies such as Child Protective Services and who are wary about letting outsiders into their homes. Other parents don’t speak English and Edwards sometimes has to wait on a translator to be available before she is able to schedule those visits.

Safety Concerns

Though there are clear benefits to visiting the homes of students, many early childhood educators have safety concerns. Head Start has some resources available for educators and agencies, but most of these tips , guidance and requirements explore how to build effective relationships and offer sample activities and conversation starters. Those tips that are explicitly designed to address safety concerns are generally simple lists, not training programs or community-building strategies.

Why Aren’t We Paying Early Childhood Educators What They’re Worth?

By rhian evans allvin.

This Program Is Building a Pipeline of Special Education Teachers

By jeanne alter.

This Observation Tool Is Helping Teachers Improve Their Interactions with Children

By sharon lurye.

Are Early Childhood Teachers Happy and Healthy? This Research Study Will Find Out

By kyong-ah kwon, more from edsurge.

How to Transform Lessons Into Adventures

By abbie misha.

Learning to Cope With Anxiety As a School Leader

By noelani gabriel holt.

How Home Visiting Programs Benefit the Whole Family

By cara craig.

Extreme Heat Affects Young Children. Are Early Learning Programs Equipped for It?

By emily tate sullivan.

Journalism that ignites your curiosity about education.

EdSurge is an editorially independent project of and

• Product Index
• Write for us
• Advertising

FOLLOW EDSURGE

© 2024 All Rights Reserved

Brief Home Visiting: Improving Outcomes for Children

What is Home Visiting?

Home visiting is a prevention strategy used to support pregnant moms and new parents to promote infant and child health, foster educational development and school readiness, and help prevent child abuse and neglect. Across the country, high-quality home visiting programs offer vital support to parents as they deal with the challenges of raising babies and young children. Participation in these programs is voluntary and families may choose to opt out whenever they want. Home visitors may be trained nurses, social workers or child development specialists. Their visits focus on linking pregnant women with prenatal care, promoting strong parent-child attachment, and coaching parents on learning activities that foster their child’s development and supporting parents’ role as their child’s first and most important teacher. Home visitors also conduct regular screenings to help parents identify possible health and developmental issues.

Legislators can play an important role in establishing effective home visiting policy in their states through legislation that can ensure that the state is investing in evidence-based home visiting models that demonstrate effectiveness, ensure accountability and address quality improvement measures. State legislation can also address home visiting as a critical component in states’ comprehensive early childhood systems.

What Does the Research Say?

Decades of research in neurobiology underscores the importance of children’s early experiences in laying the foundation for their growing brains. The quality of these early experiences shape brain development which impacts future social, cognitive and emotional competence. This research points to the value of parenting during a child’s early years. High-quality home visiting programs can improve outcomes for children and families, particularly those that face added challenges such as teen or single parenthood, maternal depression and lack of social and financial supports.

Rigorous evaluation of high-quality home visiting programs has also shown positive impact on reducing incidences of child abuse and neglect, improvement in birth outcomes such as decreased pre-term births and low-birthweight babies, improved school readiness for children and increased high school graduation rates for mothers participating in the program. Cost-benefit analyses show that high quality home visiting programs offer returns on investment ranging from $1.75 to $5.70 for every dollar spent due to reduced costs of child protection, K-12 special education and grade retention, and criminal justice expenses.

Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program

The federal home visiting initiative, the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, started in 2010 as a provision within the Affordable Care Act, provides states with substantial resources for home visiting. The law appropriated $1.5 billion in funding over the first five years (from FYs 2010-2014) of the program, with continued funding extensions through 2016. In FY 2016, forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, four territories and five non-profit organizations were awarded $344 million. The MIECHV program was reauthorized under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act through September 30, 2017 with appropriations of $400 million for each of the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-123 ) included new MIECHV funding. MIECH was reauthorized for five years at $400 million and includes a new financing model for states. The new model authorizes states to use up to 25% of their grant funds to enter into public-private partnerships called pay-for-success agreements. This financing model requires states to pay only if the private partner delivers improved outcomes. The bill also requires improved state-federal data exchange standards and statewide needs assessments. MIECHV is up for reauthorization, set to expire on Sept. 30, 2022.  

The MIECHV program emphasizes that 75% of the federal funding must go to evidence-based home visiting models, meaning that funding must go to programs that have been verified as having a strong research basis. To date,  19 models  have met this standard. Twenty-five percent of funds can be used to implement and rigorously evaluate models considered to be promising or innovative approaches. These evaluations will add to the research base for effective home visiting programs. In addition, the MIECVH program includes a strong accountability component requiring states to achieve identified benchmarks and outcomes. States must show improvement in the following areas: maternal and newborn health, childhood injury or maltreatment and reduced emergency room visits, school readiness and achievement, crime or domestic violence, and coordination with community resources and support. Programs are being measured and evaluated at the state and federal levels to ensure that the program is being implemented and operated effectively and is achieving desired outcomes.

With the passage of the MIECHV program governors designated state agencies to receive and administer the federal home visiting funds. These designated  state leads provide a useful entry point for legislators who want to engage their state’s home visiting programs.

Advancing State Policy

Evidence-based home visiting can achieve positive outcomes for children and families while creating long-term savings for states.

With the enactment of the MIECHV grant program, state legislatures have played a key role by financing programs and advancing legislation that helps coordinate the variety of state home visiting programs as well as strengthening the quality and accountability of those programs.

During the 2019 and 2021 sessions, Oregon ( SB 526 ) and New Jersey ( SB 690 ), respectively, enacted legislation to implement and maintain a voluntary statewide program to provide universal newborn nurse home visiting services to all families within the state to support healthy child development. strengthen families and provide parenting skills.    

During the 2018 legislative session New Hampshire passed  SB 592  that authorized the use of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds to expand home visiting and child care services through family resource centers. Requires the development of evidence-based parental assistance programs aimed at reducing child maltreatment and improving parent-child interactions.

In 2016 Rhode Island lawmakers passed the Rhode Island Home Visiting Act ( HB 7034 ) that requires the Department of Health to coordinate the system of early childhood home visiting services; implement a statewide home visiting system that uses evidence-based models proven to improve child and family outcomes; and implement a system to identify and refer families before the child is born or as early after the birth of a child as possible.

In 2013 Texas lawmakers passed the Voluntary Home Visiting Program ( SB 426 ) for pregnant women and families with children under age 6. The bill also established the definitions of and funding for evidence-based and promising programs (75% and 25%, respectively).

Arkansas lawmakers passed  SB 491  (2013) that required the state to implement statewide, voluntary home visiting services to promote prenatal care and healthy births; to use at least 90% of funding toward evidence-based and promising practice models; and to develop protocols for sharing and reporting program data and a uniform contract for providers.

View a list of significant  enacted home visiting legislation from 2008-2021 . You can also visit NCSL’s early care and education database which contains introduced and enacted home visiting legislation for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. State officials face difficult decisions about how to use limited funding to support vulnerable children and families.

Key Questions to Consider

State officials face difficult decisions about how to use limited funding to support vulnerable children and families and how to ensure programs achieve desired results. Evidence-based home visiting programs have the potential to achieve important short- and long-term outcomes.

Several key policy areas are particularly appropriate for legislative consideration:

• Goal-Setting: What are they key outcomes a state seeks to achieve with its home visiting programs? Examples include improving maternal and child health, increasing school readiness and/or reducing child abuse and neglect.
• Evidence-based Home Visiting: Have funded programs demonstrated that they delivered high-quality services and measureable results? Does the state have the capacity to collect data and measure program outcomes? Is the system capable of linking data systems across public health, human services, and education to measure and track short and long-term outcomes?
• Accountability: Do home visiting programs report data on outcomes for families who participate in their programs? Do state and program officials use data to improve the quality and impact of services?
• Effective Governance and Coordination: Do state officials coordinate all their home visiting programs as well as connect them with other early childhood efforts such as preschool, child care, health and mental health?
• Sustainability:  Shifts in federal funding make it likely that states will have to maintain programs with state funding. Does the state have the capacity to maintain the program? Does the state have the information necessary to make difficult funding decisions to make sure limited resources are spent in the most effective way? 

Related Resources

Housing and homelessness toolkit, policies for the jurisdiction of the children, families and human services standing committee, promising trends emerge in recent health and human services bills.

The chairs of NCSL’s Children, Families and Human Services Committee recently met to discuss the health workforce, prevention of child maltreatment, behavioral health, maternal and child health, Medicaid and other timely issues.

Contact NCSL

For more information on this topic, use this form to reach NCSL staff.

• What is your role? Legislator Legislative Staff Other
• Is this a press or media inquiry? No Yes
• Admin Email

• Kreyòl Ayisyen
• ٱلْعَرَبِيَّة
• Translate more languages
• Translated by Google

Home Visiting

Programs and services.

• Birth to Three
• Policy and Procedures (Former Regulations)
• Transmittals
• Additional Information
• CCDF Plan Updates
• Early Childhood Facilities Construction and Renovation Grant Program
• Early Start CT
• About Family Bridge
• Help Me Grow
• Home Visiting Resources
• Child Day Care Contracts
• Benefits of the Program
• Grant Awards
• Smart Start
• State Head Start Supplement
• News — Programs and Services

Home visiting programs improve the health of young children by providing support and services for them and their families — right in their own homes.

These programs reach pregnant women, expectant fathers, and parents and caregivers of children under the age of 5. On this page, you can:

• Learn about the 4 types of home visiting programs  in Connecticut
• Use our interactive map to  find a home visiting program in your area

Sparkler is a mobile app that helps parents to check in on how their child is doing against key milestones — and provides activities to spark their early learning. Learn more about Sparkler .

Types of home visiting programs

Connecticut offers 4 different types of home visiting programs that are evidence-based. Each type is designed to meet the unique needs of many families with young children.

• Parents as Teachers: Teaching parents about early childhood
• Child First: Supporting children and families experiencing multiple challenges
• Nurse-Family Partnership: Connecting first-time parents with nurses

Healthy Families America (HFA)

Parents as teachers: teaching parents about early childhood .

Parents as Teachers helps families learn about child development, health and safety, and getting their child ready to start school. Parents as Teachers weekly home visits can start anytime before the child starts kindergarten, including during a parent’s pregnancy.  

• See a list of Parents as Teachers programs in CT
• Find out more about the Parents as Teachers approach to home visiting

Child First: Supporting children and families experiencing multiple challenges

Child First helps families who are dealing with more than one type of stress at once — like not having enough income, violence in the home, or a mental health issue. Child First home visits can start any time during a child’s first 5 years, including during a parent’s pregnancy. Services usually continue for 6 to 12 months. 

• See a list of Child First programs in CT
• Find out more about the Child First approach to home visiting

Nurse-Family Partnership: Connecting first-time parents with nurses 

Nurse-Family Partnership helps first-time, low-income parents have a healthy pregnancy and birth by pairing them with specially trained nurses. Nurse-Family Partnership home visit routines start early in the parent’s pregnancy and continue through the child’s second birthday. 

• See a list of Nurse-Family Partnership programs in CT
• Find out more about the Nurse-Family Partnership approach to home visiting

HFA supports families in the home using a strength-based approach — building on a family’s existing knowledge, skills, and values — to support healthy childhood growth, promote positive parent-child relationships, and build stronger families. HFA offers most families services for at least 3 years, including weekly visits at the start. Find out more about HFA’s approach .

Find a home visiting program in your area

To find contact information for home visiting programs in your area, use our interactive map or the dropdown menu.

What Is Home Visiting?

Early childhood home visiting is a service delivery strategy that matches expectant parents and caregivers of young children with a designated support person—typically a trained nurse, social worker, or early childhood specialist—who guides them through the early stages of raising a family. Services are voluntary, may include caregiver coaching or connecting families to needed services, and provided in the family's home or another location of the family's choice. 

Home visiting is a holistic, two-generation approach.

Home visiting views child and family development from a holistic perspective that encompasses child health and well-being, child development and school readiness, positive parent-child relationships, parent health and well-being, family economic self-sufficiency, and family functioning. A two-generation approach with a lengthy history , home visiting delivers both parent- and child-oriented services to help the whole family thrive. Although services differ across models, home visitors typically—

Gather Family Information to Tailor Services

• Screen caregivers for issues like postpartum depression, substance use, and domestic violence
• Screen children for developmental delays

Provide Direct Education and Support

• Provide knowledge and training to make homes safer
• Promote safe sleep practices
• Offer information about child development

Make Referrals and Coordinate Services

• Help pregnant women access prenatal care
• Check to make sure children attend well-child visits
• Connect caregivers with job training and education programs
• Refer caregivers as needed to mental health or domestic violence resources

Discover more in our Primer and At a Glance resources.

Home visiting outcomes are supported by research.

Research shows that voluntary home visiting programs help improve infant and maternal health, develop safe homes and nurturing relationships to prevent prevent child abuse and injury or mortality, support early learning and long-term academic achievement, and make referrals and coordinate services. Studies have found a return on investment of $1.80 to $5.70 for every dollar spent. This strong return on investment is consistent with established research on other types of early childhood interventions.

Learn more about the benefits .

Many models are evidence based or on the path to becoming so. 

Programs choose from a variety of models to implement with families, each suited to differing community needs, target obstacles, and available resources. The Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) project administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a set of criteria for evidence of model effectiveness. Models that meet criteria are deemed evidence based. NHVRC surveys evidence-based and emerging models at the national, state/local, and tribal levels annually to provide a comprehensive assessment of the landscape in our Yearbook .  

Visit our model profiles for details on individual models.

Home Visiting Primer READ

Stay up to date on the latest home visiting information.

• K-12 Education
• Higher Education
• Early Education
• Early Intervention
• News & Resources

3 Strategies to Help States and Regional Programs Improve Home Visits for Families

Sitting at a tiny table, sippy cup in hand, two-year-old Julio giggles as his speech therapist reads The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the third time. Julio’s mother sits with them at the table. Between pages, she proudly shares how her son increasingly points to and names his favorite foods during mealtime — a skill that Julio has worked hard to improve during home visits with his speech therapist. As if on cue, Julio points to the refrigerator and demands, “Juice!” clearly and without hesitation.

This uplifting scene is a familiar one to the thousands of home visit staff who provide essential early intervention (EI) services to families across the United States. Home visits are a critical component of quality support for young children navigating developmental delays or disabilities. Families learn approaches to use to promote their child’s early development through naturally occurring learning opportunities. This practice not only creates positive outcomes for children but also benefits the entire family unit and the broader community — the ultimate goal of any EI service. 

Yet many families still face the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including exacerbated racial education and health inequities, longer wait times to receive evaluations and establish eligibility, and a reduction in the quality and frequency of services. This all can make getting the support their children need to thrive more challenging. In turn, EI providers have seen sharp decreases in family enrollments since 2020 ( Mersky et al, 2022 ), meaning families that may benefit from services aren’t getting them. Now more than ever, families and EI providers alike need high-quality, high-impact home visit programs.

However, local agencies and programs cannot achieve this vision alone. To ensure that every family who needs them actually receives these valuable services, these organizations need statewide and regional support. States and regional organizations have immense potential to unlock the power of home visits to meet critical family needs.

Home Visiting Today: Benefits and Challenges

Home visits have been part of EI provider practices for decades, and research repeatedly shows the many benefits of home visiting programs. A 2013 meta-analysis of research on home visitations found that these services resulted in significant improvements to the development and health of young children ( Peacock et al, 2013 ). Some individual family outcomes cited in the analysis included:

• Early prevention of risk factors and child abuse, in some cases
• Improved cognition
• Reduced problem behaviors
• Reduced instances of low birth weights and health problems in older children

Further, according to the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) project, there are 18 home visitation models that have been vetted as “evidence-based.” Empirical studies revealed that 10 of these 18 models resulted in significantly positive impacts on child development, maternal well-being, and other family outcomes. Though each model differs in its approach to family and child support, the collective outcomes from these models highlight how powerful home visiting can be. 

However, programs face a number of challenges as they seek to reap the potential benefits of implementing home visits with their families. In their 2019 health policy brief , Health Affairs summarized three primary challenges that affect EI programs.

Many visitation programs are voluntary, which means that agencies must dedicate resources toward building and maintaining family enrollment on top of managing other program needs. This can be burdensome for local agencies, who may have limited staff time or funding for recruitment efforts.

Relatedly, although federal funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program was reauthorized by Congress in 2022, EI providers still by and large do not have sufficient resources to meet the broader need to support families through home visits. EI funding challenges impact more than the types and variety of services that families can receive. Funding also affects a program’s ability to recruit home visit staff and provide high-quality training to them. 

Variability

Last, and most critically, there is tremendous variation among home visiting programs both in terms of implementation and efficacy. Even among those 18 models validated by HomVEE, it’s difficult to isolate which factors across these models make them so effective. This ambiguity complicates current and future efforts to expand models in new ways or recreate them in new places. 

The result of these challenges is that many families and young children don’t receive the services that may allow them to best thrive. To put the opportunity into perspective, as recently as 2021, only 1.6% of all families that may benefit from home visits actually received them ( National Home Visiting Resource Center, 2022 ). 

But here’s the good news: State and regional programs have a huge opportunity to mitigate these challenges , unlock the benefits of home visiting programs, and create opportunities to strengthen learning and coaching. 

State & Regional Programs: Game Changers for EI Providers and the Families They Support

A statewide or regional EI program can catalyze a local agency’s impact on their families through home visits in several key ways. 

First, with greater reach comes great distribution. State or regional programs are better positioned to distribute available funding strategically across local partners, prioritizing high-need programs or services. With state funding and legislature for home visitation programs on the rise ( National Conference of State Legislatures, 2022 ), there is more opportunity to both increase and allocate resources to support families that need it most. 

Second, states can leverage their macro-position to catalyze communication efforts about local EI services, raising awareness among families to drive enrollment. A state or region-wide campaign can also clarify misconceptions about available programs that offer home visiting, many of which are available for free or are covered by some insurance providers. 

Last, regional programs enable EI service providers to better support their families by disseminating must-have information, such as emerging trends in research or changes in legislature that may affect programs. This outreach can also arm local programs with best practices beyond home visit services themselves, such as program evaluation, continuous improvement, and data review processes. As an example, in 2018, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) partnered with four states to help spread new, critical information about autism to early childhood providers through their campaign called “Learn the Signs, Act Early.” Over 1,000 providers received statewide training on the Autism Case Training curriculum — far more than in-house or local agencies have the capacity to support on their own.

It’s clear that statewide and regional efforts to support EI funding and services work — so what can these programs do today to impact home visits tomorrow?

3 Ways States Can Catalyze Home Visiting Programs

State and regional programs are key to catalyzing the reach and impact of home visitation programs on families. From their deep experience supporting statewide early intervention and care programs, the TORSH team put together three strategies to help these critical entities unlock the power of home visits. 

#1: Expand Outreach to Eligible Families of All Backgrounds

EI services are crucial tools to promote health equity among children and their families. In particular, The Education Trust highlights a critical need for states to engage BIPOC families and families who speak home languages other than English in their efforts to promote EI.

Why? Patterns of inequity in both access to and utilization of EI resources are present among these families. Research shows that Black children with developmental delays are 78% less likely to receive EI services ( Feinberg et al, 2011 ), and similar patterns of inequity emerge among children from other racial or ethnic groups other than White children ( Magnusson et al, 2016 ). The urgency to create equitable access to all families for EI support cannot be understated. 

And who knows their community’s cultural diversity and backgrounds better than the local agencies that serve them? Through partnerships with local programs, states can help further spread information about these services to families of diverse backgrounds, especially those that traditionally underutilize statewide or regional intervention supports. 

Here’s just one way in which states can create more equitable access to EI services. A key barrier to families accessing early intervention services is how complex and uncoordinated services often are. Minnesota, Oregon, Colorado, and many other states have invested in community-informed family navigation models that are designed to simplify the process of finding services. These models leverage local organizations and agencies to connect families with a person in their community who shares their language and race/ethnicity, acting as guides for the process. These guides work closely with families to determine what services they’re eligible for and then help them take the steps necessary to receive services. Support can include explaining the process, helping to fill out forms, and following up by phone, text, email, and even home visits to ensure families are receiving the services they need. 

The results of these statewide efforts are powerful. In Minnesota , the community resource hubs served a greater percentage of people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds than their populations in the state. Here’s a snapshot, 15% of the people served were Latino (of any race), 10% were Black, and 10% were Indigenous. For context, the state’s population of Latino people is just 5.8%,the population of Black people is only 7.4%, and Indigenous people account for only 1.4% of the population. This locally-based model is hugely successful in reaching historically underserved communities in the state and is inspirational for other organizations to create more equitable access to EI services for all families.

#2: Invest in Professional Development for Staff

Whether they’re conducting assessments, coaching parents, or providing other services, home-visiting staff are the bridge between what families may need and the services that can help. However, delivering high-quality services during home visits means providing practitioners with more than a one-time workshop or training series. States are well positioned to ensure home visit providers receive ongoing professional learning and coaching — not only about evidence-based practices for EI but also about programmatic processes for continuous improvement.

Several state and regional programs offer inspiration with their comprehensive professional development approach for EI providers. For example, Florida’s Early Steps program utilizes TORSH Talent , a HIPAA secure coaching and professional learning platform, to support comprehensive training for providers and caregivers in the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida. Using TORSH Talent’s tools, experts provide evidence-based feedback on using the most current social-emotional practices and EI frameworks through video observations and coaching. These practices offer new benchmarks for creative professional learning and early intervention training that can be adopted by other service providers throughout the state.

Over in Kentucky, the University of Louisville also takes advantage of TORSH Talent to deepen their interventionists’ experience partnering with families during home visits. Ongoing mentorship and feedback are essential to the Coaching in Early Intervention Training and Mentorship Program, and TORSH Talent provides the perfect space to facilitate both. Video recordings of early intervention services, time-stamped feedback, and various rubric tools all support this effective early intervention coaching model. 

The nonprofit Zero to Three shares that states can also nurture effective professional development practices by:

• Forming state or region-wide professional learning communities for home visit staff to share resources, questions, and mutual support for one another’s work
• Designing and sharing example processes or tools that support program evaluation and continuous improvement efforts, including guidance on how to leverage early intervention data to guide coaching
• Collecting and reviewing broader data trends across EI programs to inform improvements to professional development models

Professional development for early intervention service providers is a key ingredient in any effort to improve family outcomes. By investing EI funding diligently and comprehensively into professional learning for home visiting programs, states and regional entities set up local providers and families for long-term success. 

#3: Leverage Technology to Increase Access to Families

From supporting virtual home visits to bolstering family-provider collaborations between live visits, technology helps broaden and deepen the impact of EI services for families. State and regional entities can provide funding for implementing digital tools like TORSH Talent to ensure all families can more easily access local services. 

A beautiful example of the power that technology offers can again be found in Florida. The Autism Institute collaborated with TORSH to implement TORSH Talent as a way to support families in identifying early signs of autism in children. Using TORSH Talent, parents can video their child and securely send the videos to the Institute, whose team then reviews these videos to aid in diagnosing children with autism. If children do have autism, the Institute can provide intervention services remotely. By using TORSH Talent to provide virtual home support the Autism Institute meets their families right where they are. 

“Before TORSH Talent, our impact was limited to Florida families or those with the means to travel to our center. With TORSH Talent, we’re able to offer services to any family anywhere. Our diagnosticians are now conducting virtual home observations of children with early signs of autism. Our interventionists remotely coach parents on evidence-based strategies they can use to support their child’s learning in everyday activities. One of the most exciting opportunities TORSH Talent has afforded us is the ability to train interventionists from around the world on our parent-implemented Early Social Interaction model. TORSH Talent  removes barriers to our goal of making early detection and early intervention viable for all families regardless of location or socioeconomic status.”

Integrate Evidence-Informed Practices in Home Visiting Programs with TORSH

The Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center (CEC-RAP) is dedicated to advancing the field of early intervention and education for young children with disabilities, communication disorders, and/or multiple risks. Their interdisciplinary approach fosters collaboration with projects nationwide, allowing for groundbreaking research and service delivery expansion.

By partnering with TORSH, CEC-RAP empowers early intervention providers with professional development and coaching from a distance. Regardless of which state they’re located in, early intervention providers can effortlessly share their practice videos with agency team members and external coaches from Florida State University, where CEC-RAP is based. This seamless collaboration, powered by TORSH Talent , ensures optimal support and better outcomes for children and their families.

TORSH Talent also gives practitioners access to a best practices library and comprehensive self-assessment capabilities conveniently located in one platform. Early intervention providers are empowered to be internal coaches, promoting sustainability in their states by embedding Family Guided Routines Based Intervention (FGRBI) into their home visiting practices.

From building a comprehensive training resource library to driving high-impact virtual coaching, statewide and regional programs can take full advantage of the easy-to-use and secure tools built into TORSH Talent, including tools for:

• Video-based observation
• Providing targeted, specific feedback to early interventionists on their interactions with children and families
• Synchronous and asynchronous collaboration
• Individualized coaching and mentoring
• Insights to guide professional learning and training

Discover how state and regional early intervention programs can leverage TORSH Talent to increase family engagement, strengthen home visit programs, and pave the way to a better future for all families and young children. Contact us now to get started supporting deeper learning, greater collaboration, and a stronger practice.

Practice-Based Coaching: Goal Setting 101

[On-Demand Webinar] An Inside Look: How Georgia Created an Efficient and Effective Statewide Coaching and PD Program for Early Childhood Educators

Meet Rachael, Our New Manager of Finance and Sales Support!

Thanks for subscribing to our blog! You should receive a confirmation e-mail soon.

Home » What is Home Visiting?

What Is Home Visiting?

Voluntary Home Visiting is an effective state strategy that connects expectant parents and parents of young children with a designated support person, like a trained nurse, social worker, or early childhood specialist. Because parents and primary caregivers play the most important role in supporting their children’s healthy development, states make voluntary home visiting available so families have the supports and resources that they need and want – and outcomes for babies improve.

Evidence shows that various home visiting models can be highly effective prevention strategies. When babies don’t get what their growing brains need to thrive, they don’t develop as they should, which leads to life-long developmental, educational, social, and health challenges. In order to support parents in this critical developmental window, states, communities, and nonprofits have been supporting various home visiting strategies for decades.

The Bipartisan Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV)

In 2010, a bipartisan act of Congress established the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV), which provides significant funding to states for the development and implementation of home visiting through programs with measurable results.

Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families, the MIECHV program is designed to improve maternal and child health, prevent child abuse and neglect, increase families’ education level and earning potential, and promote children’s development and readiness to participate in school.

MIECHV-funded voluntary programs for new parents have been broadly popular with both parties, and it was reauthorized in a bipartisan budget bill in 2015 and signed by President Donald Trump.

Does it Work?

Voluntary home visiting has been implemented in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 5 territories, 25 tribal communities, and 51 percent of U.S. counties. This is likely because of the growing evidence that high-quality home visiting programs can:

• Increase children’s school readiness
• Enhance parents’ abilities to support their children’s overall development
• Improve child health and development
• Improve family economic self-sufficiency and reduce need for food assistance

Voluntary home visiting can also provide a crucial support for expecting and new parents in rural areas, where access to these types of trained professionals may be limited.

Funding and Expansion

Nationally, just over 2 percent of families with infants and toddlers who could benefit from evidence-based home visiting are receiving those services.

In seven states, that number is less than 1 percent. While reauthorization and expansion of MIECHV can play an important role in helping states support more parents, states are using additional funding sources to expand voluntary home visiting. Many are leveraging multiple funding streams to supplement their MIECHV funding, including state budgets, Medicaid, Family First Prevention Services Act funding, and even COVID relief funds.

Why? In addition to being an efficient and effective use of funding (studies find a return on investment of $1.80 to $5.70 for every dollar spent on voluntary home visiting), research also increasingly shows that voluntary home visiting is the kind of parent-led support that families want. 

State Home  Visiting Programs in the News:

Delaware Advocates Unleash Power of Alliance Responsive Support Network to Advance Child Care and Home Visiting

Momentum for accessible and high-quality child care is gaining steam, and advocates say technical assistance from he Alliance for Early Success has played a big part in their ability to seize the opportunity.

Allies and Policymakers Make New Jersey the Second State in the Nation to Offer Families Universal Home Visiting

With the passage and signing of S690 in 2021, New Jersey universal home visiting became a reality. The legislation establishes a statewide newborn home visitation program in the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, making the state the second in the nation with this level of home visitation.

DC Advocates Fend Off Early Childhood Cuts with the Power of Coalition-Building

Advocates in DC pivoted their 2020 goals to respond to the challenges of the pandemic. Despite obstacles, they preserved funding for early childhood services and secured additional funds to help struggling child care providers. They did this all through the work of a coalition formed specifically to advocate for early childhood funding.

Stay In Touch!

Sign up to hear about the latest early childhood policy news, resources, webinars and more! 

Our Investors

Sign up for state early childhood policy news, advocacy resources, and event invitations.​

© 2024 Alliance for Early Success

The Alliance for Early Success does not endorse or advocate for specific legislation or candidates.

Call or Text the Maternal Mental Health Hotline

Parents: don’t struggle alone

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free, confidential mental health support. Pregnant people, moms, and new parents can call or text any time, every day.

Start a call: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262)

Text now: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262)

Use TTY: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 , then 1-833-852-6262 .

Learn more about the Hotline

• Programs & Impact

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program

The MIECHV Program helps pregnant people and parents of young children improve health and well-being for themselves and their families. The Program does this by partnering trained home visitors with families to set and achieve goals. This work is part of our Early Childhood Systems programming .

Key summary documents

• Fiscal year 2024 awards chart
• Program Brief: Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (PDF - 239 KB)
• State Fact Sheets
• FY23 Home Visiting Infographic (PDF - 111 KB)

How does the Home Visiting Program help families?

Home visitors and families develop strong relationships and trust. They meet regularly to address families’ needs.

The Program aims to:

• Improve the overall health of mothers and children
• Get children ready to succeed in school
• Improve families’ economic well-being
• Connect families to other resources in their community (for example WIC , Medicaid, employment and educational resources, housing support, parenting support classes, and resources on how to stop smoking)

The Program works to prevent:

• Child injuries, abuse, and neglect
• Crime and domestic violence

What happens through home visiting?

Home visitors:

• Support healthy pregnancy habits
• Give advice on things like breastfeeding, making sure babies sleep safely, avoiding accidents with children, and eating well
• Show parents how to be positive and supportive with their children by reading, playing, and praising good behavior
• Encourage talking to babies and teaching them things from a young age
• Work with parents to plan for the future, continue their education, and find jobs and childcare
• Connect families to other services and resources in their community

How does the Program work?

Watch our video that explains this work.

HRSA and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) fund states, jurisdictions, and tribes to develop and conduct home visiting programs. We provide funds to states and jurisdictions. ACF provides funds to tribes .

These programs must be based on evidence showing that they can meet the needs of families.

How do you ensure these programs work?

We use the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review . ACF reviews home visiting program models to ensure they meet families’ needs.

There are 24 home visiting models that meet HomVEE and other eligibility criteria . States, jurisdictions, and tribes can select the best models for their communities.

How do you know how awardees are doing?

Awardees must report on how their program performs. The law requires them to do this across six benchmark areas, which include 19 performance measures (PDF - 137 KB) . They must show that they’ve improved in at least four of the six areas.

Do you offer to help awardees?

Yes. We want our awardees to succeed. Our program officers share their expertise to help improve the quality of the programs .

How is Home Visiting different from the Healthy Start program?

The Home Visiting Program and the Healthy Start program both reach pregnant women and families. But they’re different in terms of both funding and approach.

Funding differences

The Home Visiting Program awards grants to 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories to create state-wide networks that support and carry out HHS-approved evidence-based home visiting models.

Healthy Start provides direct funding to local entities . Healthy Start awardees serve communities in which babies die more often than the national average.

The 2023 funding increase for Home Visiting Program is the result of a five-year, bipartisan reauthorization of the Program by Congress. As such, this reauthorization further defines how the Home Visiting Program differs from Healthy Start.

Program differences

While both programs play a vital role in improving maternal and child health, they do so in distinct ways .

The Home Visiting Program:

• Preventing child abuse and neglect
• Promoting positive parenting
• Supporting school readiness
• Allows states to choose evidence-based models that fit their community’s needs

The Healthy Start program:

• Focuses on reducing infant deaths
• Providing both clinical and non-clinical health services
• Offering well-woman, maternity care, and doula services
• Helping with transportation and housing needs

And each program emphasizes different parts of the life course:

• The Healthy Start program focuses on the periods before, during, and after pregnancy.
• While some Home Visiting models focus on the time before birth, many models serve families throughout the early childhood period up until kindergarten.

Additional information

• Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 MIECHV Program Reauthorization
• Demonstrating Improvement in the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: A Report to Congress (PDF - 1 MB) (March 2016)

Current and past funding awards

• FY24 Formula Funding Awards
• FY23 Formula Funding Awards
• FY22 Formula Funding Awards
• FY21 American Rescue Plan Act Awards
• MIECHV Innovation Awards

Resources for our awardees

• Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (PDF - 685 KB) *
• MIECHV FY24 Notice of Funding Opportunity FAQs
• MIECHV FY24 Notice of Funding Opportunity Technical Assistance Webinar recording
• MIECHV FY24 Notice of Funding Opportunity Technical Assistance Webinar slides (PDF - 491 KB)
• COVID-19 Resources and FAQs for Home Visiting
• Data and Continuous Quality Improvement for Programs
• MIECHV Evaluation and Research
• MIECHV Program Reauthorization
• MIECHV Base Grant Awards FY23 Non-Competing Continuation Update (NCC Update) (PDF - 272 KB)
• MIECHV Formula Awards FY22 Non-Competing Continuation Update (NCC Update) (PDF - 434 KB)
• FY22 American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Round 2 Award Instructions (PDF - 204 KB)

*Note: Persons using assistive technology may not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please email Rachel Herzfeldt-Kamprath or call 301-443-2524 .

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election results
• Google trends
• AP & Elections
• U.S. Open Tennis
• Paralympic Games
• College football
• Auto Racing
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Quality early education can be expensive or hard to find. Home visits bring it to more families

Instructor Mayra Ocampo, left, collaborates with Isabel Valencia in her living room on a lesson plan Valencia will teach her daughter in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Instructor Mayra Ocampo, left, prepares materials before starting home visit instruction for Isabel Valencia in her living room in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Parent Isabel Valencia holds the first-year program portfolio of her daughter, Celeste, in her living room in Pueblo, Colo., on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Isabel Valencia gathers props and supplies for a Home Visit HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) training session with instructor Mayra Ocampo in Valencia’s home in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Isabel Valencia holds a photo of her family in her home in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Isabel Valencia, right, and Home Visit HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) instructor Mayra Ocampo, engage in a mobility lesson in Valencia’s living room in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Home visitor Amanda Pedlar and parent Bridget Collins check their smiles in a mirror, illustrating what someone might look like when they are happy, during a role-playing activity on March 4, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. (Emily Tate Sullivan/EdSurge via AP)

Home visitor Fatema Zamani and her 4-year-old daughter Kaenat build a homemade hammock, imitating a scene from a children’s book they just read on April 3, 2024, in Denver, Colo. Zamani will introduce the book and the activity to families in her caseload, most of whom recently relocated to the United States from Afghanistan. (Emily Tate Sullivan/EdSurge via AP)

Melanie Collier, HIPPY coordinator for Spring Institute, a nonprofit organization in Denver, Colo.,, talks to home visitors about a book they will soon be introducing to families in their case load, on March 12, 2024. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families. (Emily Tate Sullivan/EdSurge via AP)

Instructor Mayra Ocampo, prepares materials for a science lesson to demonstrate to Isabel Valencia in Valencia’s home in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Home visit programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to qualify early education is scarce or out of reach financially. The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

• Copy Link copied

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Standing in her living room, Isabel Valencia sets up her makeshift tennis serve with the materials on hand: a green balloon for a ball and a ruler affixed to a paper plate for a racket.

She bats the balloon to her home visitor, Mayra Ocampo, and they pass it back and forth, counting each return, offering encouragement and laughing at their mistakes.

The moment is light and playful, as it likely will be later in the week, when Valencia tries the same activity with her 4-year-old daughter Celeste. But Ocampo takes care to explain what’s happening beneath the surface: They’re not just playing tennis. They’re building social skills. They’re working on hand-eye coordination. And they’re practicing numeracy.

Instructor Mayra Ocampo, left, prepares materials before starting home visit instruction for Isabel Valencia in her living room in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Parent Isabel Valencia holds the first-year program portfolio of her daughter, Celeste, in her living room in Pueblo, Colo., on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Valencia, who came to the U.S. from Colombia a few years ago, found Ocampo through a free program that supports families with their children’s early learning and development.

Home visiting programs have provided a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to quality early education is scarce or out of reach financially . The programs, which are set to expand with new federal support, are proven to help prepare children for school but have reached relatively few families .

It was during a trip to the grocery store in 2022 with her two young kids that somebody told Valencia about the home visiting program. She had moved to Pueblo, Colorado, only a few months earlier and was feeling isolated. She hadn’t met anyone else who spoke Spanish.

“I didn’t leave my house,” she says through an interpreter, “so I thought I was the only one.”

The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program, known as HIPPY , provides families with a trained support person — in Valencia’s case, Ocampo — who visits their home every week, showing them how to engage their children with fun, developmentally appropriate activities.

The HIPPY program is unique for its two-generation approach. Through regular home visits and monthly group meetings, parents learn how to promote early literacy and social-emotional skills from staff who went through the program themselves and often share the same language and background as the families they serve.

Home visitor Amanda Pedlar and parent Bridget Collins check their smiles in a mirror, illustrating what someone might look like when they are happy, during a role-playing activity on March 4, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. (Emily Tate Sullivan/EdSurge via AP)

The program is primarily implemented in low-income neighborhoods, as well as through school districts and organizations reaching immigrant and refugee families, says Miriam Westheimer, chief program officer for HIPPY International, which operates in 15 countries and 20 U.S. states.

In the U.S., two dozen home visiting models have received a stamp of approval — and with it, access to funding — from the federal government’s Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program. While some emphasize preparing toddlers for school, others send social workers or registered nurses who focus on maternal and child health.

An estimated 17 million families nationwide stand to benefit from the type of voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services that Valencia receives. Yet in 2022, only about 270,000 did.

“That is purely because of resources,” said Dr. Michael Warren, of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau , which oversees the MIECHV program. “If more resources exist, more families can be served.”

Fortunately, he says, reinforcements are on the way.

The federal investment in the MIECHV program is set to double from $400 million to $800 million annually, by 2027. Beginning this year , the federal government will match $3 for every $1 in non-federal money spent on home visiting programs, up to a certain amount.

Now in her second year of the HIPPY program, Valencia is a more confident parent. She says the structured curriculum she follows, paired with Ocampo’s support, have helped her prepare her daughter to thrive in preschool.

“As parents, it’s hard to balance everything — work, kids, house,” says Ocampo, noting that many families in her caseload face language barriers and economic challenges such as food insecurity. “But you want to give the best to (your kids).”

Home visiting gives parents the tools to do it, she says.

Visitors supply books and materials for parents to carry out activities, as well as diapers and wipes and referrals to food pantries, public assistance programs, early intervention services and mental health professionals. They also explain the developmental importance of talking, reading and singing with young children, asking them questions, and praising them.

Melanie Collier, HIPPY coordinator for Spring Institute, a nonprofit organization in Denver, Colo.,, talks to home visitors about a book they will soon be introducing to families in their case load, on March 12, 2024. (Emily Tate Sullivan/EdSurge via AP)

They communicate a simple but potent message to parents: Everything they need to help their children flourish is probably already at home.

A math lesson can be found among a bag of beans or a pocketful of loose change. Kids can practice literacy skills by searching for items around the house that start with a particular letter.

“Not only does it help the child, it helps the parents,” says Avis Stallworth-Ellis, the HIPPY coordinator for Montgomery Public Schools in Alabama, which uses federal money to offer home visiting programs. “It gives them a different way to think.”

The most valuable outcome, families and home visitors say, is the bond forged between parent and child.

“It’s good for them and good for you,” says Ocampo. “They’re thinking you are playing, but they’re really learning.”

Parents also become better advocates for themselves and their children, and research has shown that kids are better prepared for school .

Instructor Mayra Ocampo, prepares materials for a science lesson to demonstrate to Isabel Valencia in Valencia’s home in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Lars Bakke)

Last fall, when Valencia’s daughter started preschool, the teacher told her that Celeste was more advanced than many of her classmates — evidence, Valencia says, of the cognitive and social-emotional skills they’ve worked on during daily activities.

Although Celeste is now enrolled in an early education program, Valencia has continued with the home visiting. “It’s a complement” to preschool, says Valencia, who recently became a HIPPY home visitor herself.

While home visiting is not intended to be a replacement for other early learning experiences, it can help to establish a strong foundation, especially for the many families who find early education programs inaccessible or unaffordable .

Throughout Pueblo, a city of 112,000, kindergarten teachers have noted students who receive home visiting services have longer attention spans, follow instructions better and have more developed motor skills, according to Maria Chavez Contreras, home visiting program manager at the community-based organization that hosts HIPPY in Pueblo.

“When they get to school, it’s nothing new for them,” says Chavez Contreras. “They’re carrying it over from home.”

Home visitor Fatema Zamani and her 4-year-old daughter Kaenat build a homemade hammock, imitating a scene from a children’s book they just read on April 3, 2024, in Denver, Colo. (Emily Tate Sullivan/EdSurge via AP)

Fatema Zamani, a Denver-based home visitor, says she hears from parents in her caseload — all recent arrivals from Afghanistan, where Zamani emigrated from in 2016 — about how impressed their children’s kindergarten teachers are.

Her own daughter, 4-year-old Kaenat, is in the HIPPY program and can recite her alphabet, count, and identify shapes and colors. “She is ready for preschool,” Zamani says.

She can tell the parents she works with are more confident, more curious — including those who started out reticent because they cannot read.

They’ve since spread the word. Zamani says she now has a long wait list.

This article was co-published with EdSurge. EdSurge is a nonprofit newsroom that covers education through original journalism and research. Sign up for their newsletters .

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

Resource Toolkit for Home Visiting and other Early Childhood Professionals

Welcome to the WCWPDS Home Visiting Resource Toolkit, designed to support home visiting professionals working with families. This toolkit offers a comprehensive collection of resources, including articles, webinars, websites, books, and training opportunities. Our goal is to provide current research and practical tools to enhance your practice. Explore topics such as trauma, mental health, child development, substance abuse, and much more. If you have valuable resources to share, please contact us at [email protected] .

• What is Considered Child Abuse? Psychology Today article covers the legal meaning of the term child abuse and links to states’ reporting laws and commonly asked questions about mandated reporting.
• InBrief: The Science of Neglect This short video, from the Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, reveals the four types of unresponsive care and the impact of neglect on a young child’s brain development. Look for other resources related to neglect on this website.
• The CDC website has the original ACE study, resources, the Behavioral  Risk Factor Surveillance System ACE data, journal articles and presentation graphics.
• The Child Abuse and Prevention Board has Information related to the original ACE study and ACEs data specific to Wisconsin, including a Wisconsin ACE brief and other reports related to our state.
• Services for Families of Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Trauma: A Research-to-Practice Brief . Beginning life in the context of trauma places infants and toddlers on a compromised developmental path.  This brief summarizes what is known about the impact of trauma on infants and toddlers, and the intervention strategies that could potentially protect them from the adverse consequences of traumatic experiences. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.
• How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime Nadine Burke Harris Ted Talk.
• Take The ACE Quiz — And Learn What It Does And Doesn’t Mean , NPR

Online Learning

• Childhood Adversity Narratives (CAN) Developed by 5 researchers from around the country, this webinar is meant to help inform policy makers and the public about the costs and consequences of child maltreatment and adversity.  Feel free to use their work, and provide appropriate citations, to educate others.
• Marks that Matter, Sentinel Injuries, and Other Opportunities for Child Abuse Prevention is a 25-minute module that will teach you about marks that matter and sentinel injuries, including why they are significant, who is at risk, and what to do if you suspect abuse. It is intended for childcare workers, child welfare workers, family support staff, and home visitors, but any person working with children will find it a useful tool.  This module can be viewed on your computer or mobile device.
• WI Mandated Reporter Online Training Reporting requirements vary slightly for a few groups.  Learners can select the affiliation that best fits their role in the WI Child Welfare Professional Development System online training.
• Coping with Early Adversity and Mitigating its Effects—Core Story: Resilience From the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, this 7 min. video addresses effective ways to help children cope and build resilience through adversity.
• NEAR@Home is a training manual with guided processes to help home visitors learn and practice language and strategies to safely and effectively talk about childhood trauma and the ACEs questionnaire in a safe, respectful, and effective way for both home visitor and family.
• Tip Sheet CES
• Childhood Experiences Survey Developed through UW Milwaukee for home visitors, this validated tool expands the framework of the original ACEs survey to include additional questions around poverty, bullying, absence of a parent, and death of a close family member.

Prevention  Advocacy

• Child Welfare League of America with the following text,.  CWLA leads and engages its network of public and private agencies and partners to advance policies, best practices and collaborative strategies that result in better outcomes for children, youth and families that are vulnerable.
• Prevent Child Abuse America PCA’s mission is to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation’s children.  Their website offers an activity toolkit, stats and figures, tip sheets for parents, research and ways you can make a difference.
• Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board is committed to mobilizing research and practices that prevent the occurrence of child maltreatment.  Learn about abuse and neglect risk factors and protective factors, as well as frameworks for child maltreatment prevention.
• Safe Haven for Newborns Information Safe Haven, also known as “infant relinquishment”, this law allows a parent to leave their newborn in a safe place in certain circumstances with certain individuals.  Learn more about this WI law, the Maternal and Child Health Hotline and crisis support on this webpage.
• Wisconsin Sex Trafficking and Exploitation Indicator and Response Guide for Mandated Reporters ( English ) ( Spanish )
• Awareness to Action (A2A) A2A is an initiative focused on preventing child sexual abuse by helping adults and communities take action to protect children through awareness, education, prevention, advocacy and action, through the Child Abuse Prevention Board, Children’s Hospital of WI.

Tip Sheets/ Guides

• Tip Sheet: Talking to Children and Teens about Child Abuse Children need accurate, age-appropriate information about child sexual abuse and confidence that adults they know will support them. This tip sheet can help!
• Books to Help Parents Talk About and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse The Committee for Children features a list of books which provide valuable information for parents to keep their kids safe.
• Long-term consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect fact sheets.
• Babies Cry, Be Prepared Free downloadable brochure in English, Spanish and Hmong from Child Abuse and Prevention Board.
• Signs of Child Abuse and Neglect The WI Dept of Children and Families has outlined the signs of neglect and physical, sexual, and emotional child abuse, to help readers be prepared to recognize situations that may need to be reported.

Text Resources

• Services for Families of Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Trauma: A Research-to-Practice Brief , Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation
• CTA Library The CTA is a Community of Practice  working to improve the lives of high-risk children through direct service, research and education.  CTA translates emerging findings about the human brain and child development into practical implications for the way we nurture, protect, enrich, educate and heal children.

Adult Mental Health

Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health

• Depression in Mothers: More Than the Blues: A Toolkit for Family Service Providers through SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014)
• Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders : Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Women’s Mental Health and Harvard Medical School Guide/Website

For Parents: 

• Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health Overview , provided by Postpartum Support International, offers information on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders for women concerned about their mental health during or after pregnancy.
• Resources for Mothers and Families from the Periscope Project includes information about several support groups for mothers concerned about perinatal related mental health disorders.
• HelpLine for  Moms, offered through Postpartum Support International , 1-800-944-4773 (English and Spanish), or text 503-894-9453 .  Available 24 hrs. a day, callers will be asked to leave a confidential message and a trained and caring volunteer will return your call or text. They will listen, answer questions, offer encouragement and connect you with local resources, as needed.

Professional Reading

• Home Visiting and Maternal Depression: Seizing the Opportunities to Help Mothers and Young Children – Urban Institute, 2011
• Supporting Infants, Toddlers, and Families Impacted by Caregiver Mental Health Problems, Substance Abuse, and Trauma: A Community Guide
• Maternal Depression: Why It Matters to an Anti-Poverty Agenda for Parents and Children Websites – CLASP, 2014
• National Institute on Mental Health
• National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness Mental Health Newsletter highlighting Stress Reduction for families and professionals (2016). Includes resources in English and Spanish, links to tips and articles.
• National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness Mental Health Newsletter highlighting Parental Depression (2016) includes links to articles, briefs, and action steps for families and professionals.

Online Training and Educational Modules

• Perinatal Mental Health Modules is a two-part series designed for home visitors to better understand the signs and symptoms of perinatal mental health issues and how they impact mothers and families. Throughout the training, you will view excerpts from a live webinar taught by Jen Perfetti, MA, LPC, a licensed therapist at Luna Perinatal Counseling and the Clinical and Professional Development Coordinator with the UW Department of Psychiatry Parent-Infant Mental Health Programs.
• WI Dept. of Health Services’ Perinatal Mental Health: Screening, Referral and Supportive Interventions for Women and Families webinar series includes videos, references, information for clinicians, and handouts for women and their families. Developed by leaders in the fields of psychiatry and women’s health, this series covers a variety of topics related to perinatal mental health.
• The Periscope Project (Medical College of WI) offers free online modules on common topics related to perinatal psychiatric disorders. While these modules target medical providers, two of the modules, Perinatal Mood Disorders and Screening and Follow-up, are relevant for family support professionals, as well.
• The Periscope Project website contains work from the Wisconsin project which hosts a consultation line and other resources to support professionals working with new parents, that may be struggling with perinatal mental health and depression. This site provides information on screening guidelines and resources beyond the Perinatal Algorithm training. On the site you will find screening tools, educational modules/ videos and tools on a variety of perinatal mental health topics.
• National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH) offers authoritative information about mental health disorders well as information on a range of mental health topics and the latest mental health research.
• Mental Health America , learn about the signs and symptoms of mental illness, facts, statistics, how to live mentally healthy, finding help, public policy, screening, and the latest news on mental health.
• B4Stage4 is an initiative that encourages all of us to have a new perspective about mental health. Learn about both prevention and intervention strategies, including the B4Stage4 philosophy, and information and resources available through “Get informed, Get screened and Get help”.
• Mental Health, Oklahoma State Department of Health. Oklahome Home Visitor Training
• Brain Basics from the National Institute of Mental Health provides information on how the brain works, how mental illnesses are disorders of the brain, and ongoing research that helps us better understand and treat disorders.
• Health Nexus Santé’s Perinatal Mood Disorders:   An Interdisciplinary Training Video (25:03) offered in four chapters.  Reviews the risk factors and symptoms of perinatal mood disorders.  Testimonials by women diagnosed with a perinatal mood disorder and counseling vignettes are included.
• Imagine There Was No Stigma to Mental Illness | Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman | TEDxCharlottesville (22:07)
• Ending the Stigma of Mental Illness (4:33)
•   Tip Sheet PSS
• Self-Help and Mental Health Screening Tools , from Mental Health America. This webpage contains great resources for individuals exploring their own mental health, including screening tools.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) , Mental Health by the Numbers,
• National Institutes of Health, Prevalence, includes rates for various mental illness diagnoses in the U.S.
• Mental Health America of Wisconsin

Fact Sheets

• Depression During and After Pregnancy , WomensHealth.gov
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) offers fact sheets related to a variety of mental health issues.
• Wisconsin Department of Health Services Mental Health Resources

Advocacy, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Instructional

• Advocacy 101 for Family Support Professionals

Reading Materials

• Out of the Boardroom: How Nonprofit Board Members Can Be Effective Advocates in Troubled Times

Talking Points

• HV Talking Point – Home visitors can advocate for their roles and their programs as concerned citizens, during their own private time. You can use this document to help policy-makers understand the value of home visiting and your role
• Value of PD Talking Points – Professional development helps family support professionals feel more confident and competent in their roles.
• Be an Advocate for Young Children, Supporting Families Together Association – Learn about different types of advocacy, how you can get involved, who to contact, and current advocacy alerts (eg. News from the WI Children’s Caucus, webinars, etc.)
• Zero to Three Home Visiting:  Supporting Parents and Child Development includes resources and tools to help policymakers and professional understand the importance of investing in home visiting programs and support the implementation of home visiting programs as part of a comprehensive and coordinated system of services for young children and their families.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Access and Equity by Tina Q Tan (September 2019) https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/220/Supplement_2/S30/5552351?login=true
• Reflections on Research: Toward an Open Data Toolkit Centered on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Principles (12/9/2020) by Rachel Woodbrook https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/166087/Woodbrook_DEIADataToolkit_LYRASIS_Whitepaper.pdf?sequence=1
• Anti – Racism Daily https://antiracismdaily.com/ “Each day, we offer an overview on current events and apply an anti-racism lens. Learn how practices embedded in our politics, criminal justice system, and workplaces enforce systemic oppression – and what you can do about it.”
• Privilege 101: A Quick and Dirty Guide by Sian Ferguson (September 29, 2014) https://everydayfeminism.com/2014/09/what-is-privilege/
• How to get Serious about Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace by Janet Stovall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvdHqS3ryw0 (September 13, 2018) TED Talk “Imagine a workplace where people of all colors and races are able to climb every rung of the corporate ladder — and where the lessons we learn about diversity at work actually transform the things we do, think and say outside the office. How do we get there? In this candid talk, inclusion advocate Janet Stovall shares a three-part action plan for creating workplaces where people feel safe and expected to be their unassimilated, authentic selves.”
• The Essential Power of Belonging by Caroline Clarke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNiGny7OlWg&list=TLPQMTMwODIwMjEJgfS2KPFg2Q&index=6 TEDx  (11:28) “Author and journalist Caroline Clarke explores our fundamental need for belonging and how critical it is not only to every individual’s fulfillment and success but to our collective wellbeing and future.”
• Just Belonging: Finding the Courage to Interrupt Bias by Kori Carew TEDx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIf43L6hNkM&list=TLPQMTMwODIwMjEJgfS2KPFg2Q&index=3 (19:16) “A moment of racial tension presents a choice. Will we be silent about implicit and unconscious bias, or will we interrupt bias for ourselves and others? Justice, belonging, and community are at stake.”
• Colorism https://www.nccj.org/colorism-0 the National Conference for Community and Justice “In this bulletin, we will be discussing the topic of Colorism. You will find history, videos, articles/handouts, statistics and questions to ponder related to this issue.”
• People of Color Discuss the Impact of ‘Colorism’ on GMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIx131aaY6A July 22, 2020 (6:28) Research shows people with darker skin experience an increased number of problems, including socioeconomic issues. Amira Adawe of The Beautywell Project weighs in on how to fight the bias.

Cultural Humility 101

• How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias by Valerie Alexander TEDx (October 22, 2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP-cqFLS8Q4 (17:23)
• Sometimes You’re A Caterpillar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRiWgx4sHGg&t=1s
• Mental Health Services
• Children’s Bureau Express
• National Center for Cultural Competence , Georgetown University.  The mission of the NCCC is to increase the capacity of health care and mental health care programs to design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems to address growing diversity, persistent disparities, and to promote health and mental health equity.
• The Cross Cultural Health Care Program offers a Cultural Competence Resource Guide for health and social service providers.
• University of Kansas Community Health and Development Center’s Community Toolbox, C ultural Competence in a Multicultural World , features 11 topics related to Culture and Diversity.
• African American Lives Today , Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & Harvard School of Public Health.  Find research data from a national survey examining African-Americans’ views on their personal and family lives, community, experiences of discrimination and financial situations.  There are links to research on health issues faced by African-Americans in our country.
• The Ways : Stories on Culture & Language from Native Communities Around the Central Great Lakes.
• The Danger of a Single Story , 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, TED Talks
• My Year of Reading a Book from Every Country in the World , Ted Talk, Ann Morgan,  (12:03 min)
• How Culture Connects to Healing and Recovery , Ted Talk , Fayth Parks (13:40 min)

Online Training Resources

• Allies for Reaching Community Health Equity offers monthly online training events.  For a calendar of online training events, check out the Culture of Health Institute for Leadership Development (CHILD) .
• 5 Diversity Modules include a General Diversity Module, Amish Culture, Hispanic Culture, Hmong Culture and Native American Culture for general audiences and adapted modules for clinical providers from the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium, UW Lacrosse.
• Working With the African American Father: The Forgotten Parent Authors: California Social Work Education Center includes objectives, agenda, and trainer and trainee materials to develop professional practice working with African-American father’s and address systemic biases.
• What Works for African American Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions Authors: Bandy and Moore Identifies programs that do and do not work and intervention strategies that contribute to program success.
• Culturally Diverse Parent-Child and Family Relationships: Guide for Social Workers and Other Practitioners Author: Webb Reviews the parent-child relationships and caregiving practices of subgroups of various racial and ethnic groups, outlines ethical issues in socialw ork with culturally diverse children, and describes a frameowrk for culturally responsive practice.
• Developing Cross-Cultural Competence: A Guide for Wokring with Children and Thier Families Authors: Lynch and Hanson Information on working with families and children with disabilities from specific cultrual, ethnnic, and language groups.
• Understanding Our New Racial Reality Starts with the Unconscious Source: Greater Good – the Science of Meaningful Life
• McK-V Inquirer: A newsletter of helpful tips & resources for serving children and youth experiencing homelessness found on the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners website. Scroll down to STATE RESOURCES and click on the issue you want to read.
• Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice ,National Association of Social Workers (2015)
• Father Involvement and Child Welfare:  The Voices of Men of Color , Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, Vol. 11, Number 1 (2014)
• Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches to Serving Diverse Populations: A Resource Guide for Community-Based Organizations This 2017 resource guide identifies easily accessible resources on cultural competency that organizations can use to become more responsive to the needs of their targeted populations, and to help attract funds to support their important work.
• Head Start’s Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) . Administrators, teachers, caregivers, and families can use these resources to help ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate services for all children birth to 5. These resources can also help staff provide high quality services for children who are dual language learners (DLLs). Programs can promote positive experiences for DLLs by holding high expectations. They can also emphasize children’s cultural and linguistic strengths.
• Head Start’s ECLKC Family Engagement webpage, which includes the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework, Boosting School Readiness through Family Engagement (simulation series), Engaging and Goal-Setting with Families, and the Family Engagement Family, Language and Literacy webinar series.  https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/family-engagement

Building Collaborations

• Chamber Executive: Where Workforce Development Begins , October 2012, Libby Doggett
• Partnerships: Frameworks for Working Together . This guidebook, developed for the Strengthening Nonprofits: A Capacity Builder’s Resource Library, is helpful to any organization or coalition of organizations that wants to know more about establishing and managing partnerships. (updated 2010)
• Guiding Principles for Public-Private Partnerships – A Tool to Support Engagement to Achieve Public Health Goals. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2018
• Nonprofit Collaborations:  Why Teaming Up Can Make Sense , Forbes Magazine, April 9, 2013.
• Business Leaders Team up to Benefit Education, Economy – ReadyNation
• Change the First five Years and You Can Change Everything – Ounce of Prevention
• Smart Beginnings and the Workforce Pipeline

Local Organizations

• Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners
• Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention “The Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board is committed to mobilizing research and practices to prevent child maltreatment in the state.”
• Supporting Families Together Association .  SFTA is Wisconsin’s statewide member association for organizations and individuals committed to making every early childhood a great one. The core membership consists of Wisconsin’s Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) and Family Resource Centers (FRCs). Individual membership is made up of other like-minded individuals.

Child Development

Apps and Activities

• ASQ activities
• Milestone Tracker Mobile App , Milestones matter! Track your child’s milestones from age 2 months to 5 years with CDC’s easy-to-use illustrated checklists; get tips from CDC for encouraging your child’s development; and find out what to do if you are ever concerned about how your child is developing. Photos and videos in this app illustrate each milestone and make tracking them for your child easy and fun!
• Text4Baby . The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition supports Text4baby, a free mobile text messaging service that provides  moms-to-be, new moms and family members  with information to help them care for themselves and their baby throughout pregnancy and the baby’s first year.
• Vroom This practical app helps parents to help their babies brains grow during their regular daily routines!  Using the science of early learning, this app acknowledges parents as their child’s #1 brain builder, helping turn ordinary or fussy times into fun shared moments.
• Sesame Street Fun Games for Kids Parents can use these free online educational games, videos and coloring activities for preschoolers.
• Sesame Streets’ Healthy Habits for Life – We Have the Moves ,  This resource contains fun-filled activities to help build physical activity into everyday moments. Parents will find physical activities that require minimal time and equipment; activities for both large and small spaces and groups; fun and easy ways to add more active play into everyday routines; and ways to link movement to different developmental areas.
•   Bright by Text Parents receive free, timely Bright by Three age-appropriate activities, games and resources in English or Spanish.
• Love, Talk, Read, Sing, Play Provides information for parents to support their child’s development in diverse ways.  The app is available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese or Nepali.
• Kinedu Offers 1,600 activity ideas for baby’s development, 0 – 4 years.
• Activities for Babies on Pinterest  
• Preschool Games on Pinterest .
• Parents Magazine Educational Games for elementary school children.
• Breathe, Think, Do mindfulness app from Sesame Street.  This free app helps teach young children, ages 2 – 5, problem-solving, self-control, planning and task persistence. Available for iOS   and Android  
• Calm free meditation app focuses on meditation, relaxation and sleep.  Their “sleep stories” function tells tales to help users fall asleep easier. There’s also a section for “Calm Kids” that parents may enjoy, as well!  Available for iOS and Android
• Developmental screening information and fact sheet.
• Social-emotional development for infants and toddlers.
• Social-emotional development for infants and toddlers related to peer behavior.
• HHS SED Milestones
• HHS SED Research Background
• HHS SED Tips for Early Childhood Teachers and Providers
• HHS SED Tips for Families
•   Kids in the Monitoring Zone: What to Do Next, ASQ
• Screening and Assessment in Early Childhood Settings, There can be some confusion about the difference between screening and assessment in early childhood settings. This infographic helps illustrate key characteristics for each type of tool.
• Screening for Social Emotional Concerns: Considerations in the Selection of Instruments.
• How kids’ screen-time guidelines came about — and how to enforce them, Kendall Powell
• Deb McNelis Promoting Brain Development Through Play and Nurture, Jennifer Rojas
• What Babies Understand about Adult Sadness, NPR
• Strength-based parenting improves children’s resilience and stress levels, Medical Press
• The Science of Resilience – Why some children can thrive despite adversity, Harvard
• Why maternal mental health matters: a case for early childhood development, Maternal Health Task Force Blog
• How Anxiety Leads to Disruptive Behavior – Kids who seem oppositional are often severely anxious, Child Mind Institute
• What Poverty Does to the Young Brain, The New Yorker
• How to Prevent Mental Health Problems? Begin at the Beginning With Infants and Toddlers – Matthew Melmed, The Huffington Post
• The Difference Between Tantrums and Sensory Meltdowns, Understood
• The Neuroscience of Calming a Baby, Psychology Today
• What Your Baby Can’t Tell You, Janet Lansbury – elevating child care
• Infants create new knowledge while sleeping, Science Daily
• Infant temperaments may reflect parents’ cultural values, Washington State University
• Some Early Childhood Experiences Shape Adult Life, But Which Ones?, NPR
• The scientific evidence against spanking, timeouts, and sleep training, Quartz
• Boy toddlers need extra help dealing with negative emotions, experts urge, Science Daily
• Helping Your Child’s Speech and Language, In the Playroom
• How raising kids within routines boosts social and emotional health, Desert News – National
• Understanding the Relation Between Temperament and Behavior, The Urban Child Institute
• Family Engagement and School Readiness Series, National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement
• How Supportive Parenting Protects the Brain, The Atlantic
• Benefits of bilingual children , FastCompany
• Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: Policies and Practices to Foster the Social-Emotional Development of Young Children , provides an overview of early childhood mental health consultation, current issues in the field and possible future directions. The brief also provides a snapshot of current programs across the nation and highlights some of the challenges and innovations that are shaping the field. (Zero to Three)
• Seeing the Importance of Vision Development, research-to-policy article from the Urban Child Institute. 
• “ Baby’s Vision development: What to Expect the First Year ” from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Online Training

• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services Women, Infants, and Children Program site provides an online training course on anthropometrics : weighing, measuring, and interpreting measurement results.
• The Association of Maternal Child Health Programs’ Communicating the Value of Developmental Screening for professionals working directly with families and Title V leaders and other stakeholders to articulate the value of developmental screening.

CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENING AND HEALTH RESOURCES – Milwaukee Health Department Strong Baby Program – Are you a new parent, have young children, or an agency that serves families with young children? Check out these links to learn more about your baby’s incredible growth and development – and find resources to support you and your awesome baby!

PowerPoints

• A Home Visitor’s guide for developmental and behavioral screening from Birth To 5: Watch Me Thrive

Resource Guides

• Tips and Resources for Families U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Office of the Administration for Children & Families – Early Childhood Development provides web links to resources that support the development (including social emotional) of young children.
•  Zero to Three’s Parent Favorites Free parenting resources include articles (English and Spanish), series infographics and videos related to early development.
•   Resource Guide:  Child Development Resources for Parents and Providers From the U.S. Health & Human Services Child Care State Capacity Building Center, this guide provides links to resources for both parents and providers.

Resources to Share

• Prevent Blindness Wisconsin offers fact sheets about screening for and protecting children’s vision.
• Preventative Pediatric Health Care Chart
• Bright Futures Guidelines is designed to provide a common framework for well child care from birth to age 21. Explore the Bright Futures materials and tools . If you are asked for a username/password, click cancel, and you should still be routed to the page.
• Feelings Poster
• 5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return
• Kids in the monitoring zone: What to do next ASQ

UW Extension’s   Just in Time Parenting  newsletters are free parenting newsletters that are delivered by email and specific to a child’s age and needs. They are designed so that information that’s relevant to a family is automatically delivered to them just in time! Newsletters are specific to prenatal, newborn, the first year, second – third years (bimonthly), and fourth – fifth years (bimonthly). Newsletters can be downloaded from this webpage, too.

Articles for Families on Play The National Assc. for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) offers a webpage with links to articles for families that answer the question, “Why is Play Important?” and offer Play in Action ideas.

Power of Play:  Building Skills and Having Fun video (5:33 min.) View this video with parents at Zero to Three’s website.

Sensory Activities 0-18 Months Games and activities that support sensory development in very young children.

Preschooler Creative Learning and Development Ideas and Activitie s Raisingchildren.net.au provides information for parents on all aspects of children’s development, from pregnancy – teens and family life.  This website contains articles, ideas, strategies, videos and more!

The Expectation Gap Downloadable from Zero to Three, these resources help parents understand the benchmarks of social emotional development with infographics, articles and more.

Articles for Families on Behavior and Development These articles support parents as they help their child develop social-emotional competence.

An Activity Book for African American Families:  Helping Children Cope with Crisis Download this activity book, developed by the National Black Child Development Institute and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, to support the social-emotional development of children and families dealing with crisis.

• The Well-Visit Planner is based on national recommendations for parents/guardians of children 4 months to 6 years old. This web tool will result in a personalized visit guide of questions and topics for a child’s next well-child visit.  This was developed as a project of The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative and Oregon Health and Science University.  English and Spanish .
• Delighting in Writing – Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL). When young children are given opportunities, they can actively construct meaningful pictures and stories using written symbols.
• Serve and Return Interaction Shapes Brain Circuitry – The Center for the Developing Child. Video 2 from the 3 part series “Three Core Concepts in Early Development” . Young Children naturally reach out for interaction through babbling, facial expressions, and gestures.
• 6 Core Strengths for Child Development – Dr Bruck Perry
• Love, a low tech solution – Laura Peterson, TEDx Talks
• Why is it important to Comfort your child?, Hospital for Sick Children
• Developmental Screening, Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)
• 5 Tips for Brain-Building Serve and Return – Harvard Center on the Developing Child
• Early Recognition of Child Development Problems/Educational Video (4:33 min)  The Center for Disease Control’s Learn the Signs: Act Early campaign to help parents recognize developmental milestones.  Embed link in name of video.
• Early Signs of Autism Video Tutorial (9:02 min)  Video compares/contrasts typical development with those of children showing signs of early Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Kennedy Krieger Institute, Center for Autism and Related Disorders.
• Brain Builders , First Five Years Fund Early Childhood Education
• The Power of Connection : Welcome to The Power of Connection Online Experience! The first years of life is a time of incredible potential and yet of greatest vulnerability. Join us as we share some magical moments of early development with you and highlight just how important YOU are in ensuring a strong foundation for bright futures. This is a place for families and community members to deepen understanding of the complex and rich emotional worlds of our babies and young children.
• When Feelings Overwhelm: How to Help a Child 50 resources to help children manage their emotions includes resources useful to professionals and parents.
• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services offers information on Wisconsin’s Newborn Screening program and the Wisconsin Sound Beginnings newborn hearing screening program.
• The Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners provides information about the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards .
• Learn the Signs, Act Early
• Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin (CHAW, in the acronym lingo), implements programs and initiatives, and offers resources on many health topics, including injury prevention and child death review, oral health, asthma, early literacy, and Medical Home.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers free childhood developmental resources for professionals and parents, including developmental milestone fact sheets, information on children’s mental health, multimedia resources, research, articles, and positive parenting tips.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Learn the Signs: Act Early downloadable resources for professionals and parents. Covers developmental milestones for newborns through age five. Downloadable resources available in English and Spanish.
• Public Broadcasting Service’s The ABC’s of Child Development for Early Care Providers includes articles, quick tips and activity ideas
• Center on the Developing Child – Harvard University . Excellent downloadable articles, briefs, and videos related to the science of early childhood, including: brain architecture, serve and return, toxic stress, executive function & self-regulation and resilience.

Children with special needs

• Wisconsin First Step is an information and referral service hotline with phone and online chat forums and a resource directory to assist Wisconsin families and providers working with children and youth with special needs.
• Family Voices of Wisconsin promotes family-centered care for all children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Family Voices provides tools for families to make informed decisions, advocates for improved public and private policies, forges partnerships with families and professionals, and serves as a health care resource.
• What are the signs of autism? Since early treatment can improve outcomes for children diagnosed with autism, Autism Speaks stresses the importance of learning early signs of autism. The side offers a helpful Video Glossary after a brief registration.
• The  Adapting Activities & Materials for Young Children with Disabilities handout, with reference citations, provides key ideas, general teaching ideas, and activity adaptations for children with special needs.
• Do2Learn This website for individuals with special needs provides thousands of free pages with social skills and behavior regulation activities and guidance.
• Child Neurology Foundation This website offers insights and suggestions from child neurology experts for caregivers to engage with special needs children to nurture their development. Their mission: To serve as a collaborative center of education and support for caregivers and their children with neurologic conditions.
• Helping Your Child with Autism Thrive with the following text.  This Help Guide provides parenting tips, treatments and services to help parents support the development of a child on the Autism Spectrum.

Language Development

• 12 Ways to Support Language Development for Infants and Toddlers from the National Assc. of Education for Young Children (NAEYC).  Simple strategies for parents to use to support language development with very young children.
• Resources for Home-Based Practitioners The Center for Early Literacy Learning model and approach includes both evidence-based intervention and implementation practices for practitioners and parents to promote the use of early literacy learning practices.
• Storyline Online The SAF-AFRA Foundations’ award-winning children’s literacy website streams videos featuring actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.  Great for all kids, including those with special needs. Download the free app, too!

Child Health and Safety

Immunizations

• The DHS Wisconsin Immunization Registry offers a public link so that parents may access their children’s immunizations records. Through the following link, health professionals may also access materials (in several languages), as well as trainings to support their immunization programs and data collection efforts. The WIR can also be accessed in English, Spanish, or Hmong from this site. https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/wir.htm
• Through these Centers for Disease Control and Prevention links, you can download Easy-To-Read Immunization Schedules for Infants and Children , and for Teens in both English and Spanish. There is also a chart for Adults . On the same page, there is a link to a downloadable tracking chart. Families can write in their children’s measurements: Immunizations and Developmental Milestones for Your Child from Birth Through 6 Years Old
• The Immunization Action Coalition offers vaccine information for families , coalitions , and health professionals .

Infant and Early Childhood Safety and Injury Prevention

• Children’s Safety Network offers information on a wide variety of child injury prevention topics, with links to further resources.
• Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin provides Safe Sleep information in English and Spanish.
• Safe Kids Wisconsin has information on child injury prevention programs and events, including statewide car seat check dates and links to resources such as the Safe Sleep Cribs for Kids .
• Car Seats:  Information for Families .
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Car Seats and Booster Seats helps parents find and provides information on how to select a car seat, based on a child’s age and size.  It includes ease-of-use ratings that lets parents compare seats to find the right one for their child.
• Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Car Seat Safety webpage, includes information on car seat clinics, laws and best practices and fact sheets in English and Spanish.
• Pediatric Dentistry: Common Treatment Options The most common pediatric dental services include dental exams and cavity fillings. These dentists also specialize in tooth extractions, preventive treatments, and restorative treatments. From NewMouth .

Hearing and Vision

• “ The Importance of Stimulating a Child’s Vision ” research-to-policy article from the Urban Child Institute.
•   “ Vision Development in Preschool and School-aged Children” from the American Academy of Ophthalmology”.
•   “ Prevent Blindness Wisconsin” offers fact sheets about screening for, and protecting, children’s vision”

Lead Prevention

• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services offers information childhood lead poisoning and lead-free housing: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/lead/create-lead-safe-housing.htm
• On this Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, you can Learn about Lead , learn how to Protect Your Family , and find resources to work with children and families . The EPA also offers lead (plomo) information in Spanish .
• Safe Sleep for Babies Updates to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ safe sleep recommendations to protect against SIDS and sleep-related deaths are provided in this 10/24/16 video and accompanying article.
• American Academy of Pediatrics’ Task Force on SIDS:  What’s New in 2016 , Dr. Rachel Moon, MD, internationally recognized expert in SIDS and post-neonatal infant mortality.  52:33 minutes.
• Study:  Parents not following safe sleep advice for infants in AAP News, Aug. 15, 2016.
• American Academy of Pediatrics section on Child Death Review and Prevention – Safe Sleep includes policy and publications, information for families, safe sleep campaigns and frequently asked questions related to safe sleep practices for infants.
• Safe to Sleep public education campaign led by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development contains science-based information about SIDS/Safe Sleep, campaign materials, outreach materials, videos and more.
• March of Dimes Safe Sleep for your Baby , offers information on how much sleep a baby needs, the safest place for baby to sleep, how to put baby to sleep safely and bedtime routines.
• How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe:  AAP Policy Explained .  This article for parents addresses the dangers of unsafe sleep environments for babies and the pre- and postnatal recommendations from the AAP, through babies’ first year of life.
• Your New Baby Safe at Home .
• Cribs for Kids   A national safe sleep initiative since 1998, their mission is to prevent deaths caused in unsafe sleeping environments by educating parents and caregivers on the importance of practicing safe sleep for their babies and by providing portable cribs to families who, otherwise, cannot afford a safe place for their babies to sleep.
• Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin , with the WI Dept. of Health Services Maternal and Child Health Title V program, provides tools that support tribal and local health departments in addressing infant safe sleep. The website includes a safe sleep video, Sleep Baby Safe training modules, training materials, newborn nest and safe sleep local campaign examples. Educational materials available in several languages.

Best Practices and Services:

• Home Visiting Best Practices: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s home visiting best practices for COVID-19 are currently out of date.  However, the following is the CDC’s guidance for healthcare personnel as of March 18, 2024 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel
• Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals: Please explore a vast collection of resources for Rapid Response Virtual Home Visiting here .

Resources for Families:

• PBS Kids For Parents:  Explore PBS’ COVID-19 resources for parents here .

Local Information:

• Wisconsin DHS COVID-19 Updates:  Stay informed with the latest updates from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services .

Domestic Violence

• Survivors of Domestic Violence May Enroll in Health Care at ANY TIME Health centers and domestic and sexual violence advocacy organizations can partner to support survivor health and prevent violence. Through cross-trainings and warm referrals, providers and advocates are able to provide comprehensive coordinated care for survivors and their families.
• National Network to End Domestic Violence Take Action NNEDV asks advocates and allies to contact Congress at key times to influence legislation and funding for domestic violence programs.  NNEDV will ask you to make phone calls, send an email or take action on social media sites.  Taking a few minutes to contact your elected officials can mean a world of difference to a survivor of domestic violence.
• Building Domestic Violence Health Care Responses in Indian Country: A Promising Practices Report, The Family Violence Protection Fund
• Stop Asking Already: 6 Reasons Why Intimate Partner Violence Survivors Stay in Their Relationships, Everyday Feminism
• In February 2012, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (now the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology) issued a position paper recommending universal screening for intimate partner violence .

Learning Modules

• Domestic Violence: Understanding the Basics
• DVeducation.ca , sponsored by Women’s College Hospital, Canada, has learning modules targeting health care professionals and others can benefit from the information, as well.  You must register to access the free modules.  Embed link in title. 
• How Much Do you Know About Stalking? Quiz from the Stalking Resource Center of the Nat’l Center for Victims of Crime, from the Office of Violence Against Women, U.S. Dept. of Justice. Embed link in title of quiz.
• Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse:  Adjudicating this Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence This online course covers the legal, medical and social science aspects of intimate partner sexual abuse. It is focused on judges but is also intended for a multidisciplinary audience including court personnel. You can treat this website as a course and take it straight through or as a resource, accessing the background resources, modules, developing issues, recommendations and case studies on an as-needed basis.  Registration is required for the free modules, developed by the National Judicial Education Program of Legal Momentum.
• See the Signs: Speak Out Free bystander training programs available from a partnership of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, JWI, No More and Avon Foundation.  Be an Upstander, learn how to Recognize, Respond and Act. Check out these free online modules, available in English and Spanish, with registration.

Resources for Parents

• Children and Domestic Violence Fact Sheet Series – The National Child Trauma Stress Network Domestic Violence Collaborative Group announces a new series of fact sheets created for parents whose children have been affected by domestic violence. The set of 10 fact sheets gets to the heart of the experiences and needs of these children and families, and offers education in support of their resilience and recovery.
• Resources for Families What do kids need?  Find Best Practices for serving children, youth and parents experiencing domestic violence.
• The Childhelp National Abuse Hotline  is available 24 hrs. a day, every day of the year.  All calls are anonymous and toll-free.  Communication is available in 170 languages.  Downloadable resources, related to safety plans, dealing with difficult behavior words of encouragement for children and more, are also available.
• The Domestic Violence Resource Network (DVRN ) is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to inform and strengthen domestic violence intervention and prevention efforts at the individual, community, and societal levels. It currently includes two national resource centers, four special issue resource centers, three culturally-specific resource centers, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the National LGBTQ DV Capacity Building Learning Center
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline aids victims of domestic violence 24 hours a day. Hotline advocates assist victims, and anyone calling on their behalf, by providing crisis intervention, safety planning and referrals to local service providers. The hotline receives more than 24,000 calls a month.  800-799-SAFE (7233)
• End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin mission is to promote social change that transforms societal attitudes, practices and policies to prevent and eliminate domestic violence, abuse and oppression. Their website includes resources access to services, economic justice, legal issues, public policy, outreach to underserved communities and more.
• Futures Without Violence provides resources and training related to all aspects of violence, including webinars, resources on a continuum of topics related to violence, and downloadable articles/manuals.
• For almost two decades, the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence (The Center)  has supported health care professionals, domestic violence experts, survivors, and policy makers at all levels as they improve health care’s response to domestic violence. The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Family & Youth Service Bureau, funds the Center. Embed link in italicized name.
• The National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health was established in 2005 with funding from the FVPSP. Its mission is to develop and promote accessible, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed responses to IPV and other lifetime trauma so that survivors and their children can access the resources that are essential to their safety and well-being.
• State and national resources for domestic violence , includes a safety plan, national domestic violence hotline, state-by-state legal information, and more
• Help for Abused and Battered Women provided by HELPGUIDE.org, a trusted guide to mental, emotional and social health through a partnership with Harvard University
• National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center The Mission of NIWRC is to support culturally grounded, grassroots advocacy and to provide national leadership to ending gender-based violence in Indigenous communities through the development of educational materials and programs, direct technical assistance, and the development of local and national policy that builds the capacity of Indigenous communities and strengthens the exercise of tribal sovereignty. Access educational and advocacy resources on this website.
• The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV ), a social change organization, is dedicated to creating a social, political and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists.
• Youth.gov Victims of teen dating violence often keep the abuse a secret. They should be encouraged to reach out to trusted adults like parents, teachers, school counselors, youth advisors, or health care providers. They can also seek confidential counsel and advice from professionally trained adults and peers.  Find resources for teens involved in abusive relationships here.
• Transitional Housing Toolkit This toolkit is meant to provide transitional housing providers with easy access to information and resources to enhance services to survivors. The information provided here addresses frequently asked questions, common challenges, best practices, templates for adaptation, and resources for additional information and assistance.
• Domestic Violence Oklahoma State Department of Health. Oklahoma Home Visitor Training. Enter ‘Oklahoma Home Visitor Training, Domestic Violence webinar’ in website’s search bar to gain access to the training.
• Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Oklahoma State Department of Health. Oklahoma Home Visitor Training. August 2008 – Prevention Webinar presented by the Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect’ in website’s search bar to access webinar

Engaging Families

• Boosting School Readiness through Effective Family Engagement Series, “What you do and say matters! Explore and practice everyday strategies to develop Positive Goal-Oriented Relationships with a family. Four different simulations provide strategies and opportunities for you to practice skills to build bonds with families, help families develop and set goals, explore strength-based attitudes during challenging times, and have conversations about developmental concerns.  Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, U.S. Dept. of Health Services
• “ Engaging Families in Case Planning ,” Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012
• Strength-based parenting improves children’s resilience and stress levels Medical Press
• Why Don’t We Prepare Men for Fatherhood? The Good Men Project
• Engaging Families in Home Visiting: Why Does Family Engagement Matter? , The Institute for Child and Family Well-Being (UW-Milwaukee and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin)
• Engaging Families: Field Guide to Making Home Visits Matter.   “This field guide intended for social workers in child welfare, includes strategies for engaging families, steps for working with resistance and developing a working agreement, and tasks that a worker or support person can do to assist families through each stage of the process.”  Maine Dept. of Children and Families Div. of Youth and Family Services, 2012.
• Family Engagement:  Partnering with Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes , Bulletin for Professionals, Sept. 2016. Child Welfare Information Gateway. Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS.
•   News You Can Use: A Circle of Support for Infants and Toddlers – Reflective Practices and Strategies in Early Head Start, Explore strategies and issues to consider to overcome a break down in reflective practice, and suggestions for encouraging parents to reflect and build on parenting practices.

Recognition

• Appreciation Coupon_English
• Appreciation Coupon_Spanish
• Resources including Public Service Announcements, media strategies and talking points are available by clicking the link to the Parents Anonymous NPLM toolkit.

Early Intervention Video Library “This video library is designed to be a central resource for EI videos which can be used for professional development, preservice preparation, public awareness, and individual study. These videos address a variety of topics and represent EI as provided in a variety of states. All videos embedded in this site are available as free resources.”

Ethics and Boundaries Ethics and Boundaries

• ANA – Code of Ethics
• NAEYC – Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment
• NOHS – Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals
• NASW – Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers
• NASW Setting and Maintaining Professional Boundaries
• Home Visitors’ Handbook: Ethical Considerations , The Office of Head Start, in the Administration for Children and Families provides an interactive online handbook for home visitors. This page of the handbook focuses on ethics.
• Maintaining Professional Boundaries and Ethics in the Home Visitation Setting , (PowerPoint) Michael Provost, LCSW, Parents as Teachers Program Director (Parents Possible).
• Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma in Child Welfare in The New Social Worker (Fall, 2008).
• Client Relationships and Ethical Boundaries for Social Workers in Child Welfare in The New Social Worker (Winter, 2009).

Health Insurance and Other Benefits

•   A Minor’s Right to Consent to Treatment and Authorize Disclosure of Protected Health Information .  
• Crisis Services: Someone to Contact .   The State of Wisconsin provides several health hotlines (and warmlines) to connect individuals to crisis and non-crisis services.
• Prenatal Care Coordination.   Prenatal Care Coordination is a Medicaid and Badger Care Plus benefit that helps pregnant women get the support and services they need to have a healthy baby.
• Covering Kids Wisconsin The Covering Kids & Families initiative seeks to enroll eligible, uninsured children and adults in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
• Covering Wisconsin , Their mission is to connect residents with and promote effective use of insurance coverage and other programs that support health. The site includes How to Sheets, Find Local Help, Help Using Health Insurance, tips for applying for Medicare, BadgerCare Plus (Medicaid) and the Health Insurance Marketplace.
• IPV Health . IPV Health cultivates partnerships between health care providers and domestic violence advocates to promote survivor’s health and safety.

Home Visitor Safety Reading Materials

• Bed Bugs – Home Visiting
• Home Visitor Safety – 2023 – Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center
• Safety Best Practices for Home Visitors .   Center for Prevention Research and Development, Oct. 2015.
• Meth Watch Program Home Visitor Safety Tips  https://secure.in.gov/meth/files/Employees_Home_Visitors_Safety_Tips.pdf
• Personal Safety for Visiting Professionals – (PowerPoint) Indiana Dept. of Children Health Services

Videos and Training Modules

• Home Visitor Safety:  Staying Safe and Aware on the Job
• Staying Safe as a Home Visitor Webinar : Presented by Police Department of Manchester, NH
• Home Visiting Safety and Other Practical Matters webinar Presented by New York State Community Action Association
• Preventing Lice and Scabies
• Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Scabies

Human Service Agencies

Wisconsin Community Program, Social Service, and Human Service Agencies – Links are provided to every county health and human services department in the state of Wisconsin

• Want Happier Kids? Cuddle More , Yahoo Parenting
• Abusive Head Trauma: How to Protect Your Baby , HealthyChildren.Org
• The Neuroscience of Calming a Baby , Psychology Today
• Forbes: Can We Stop A Traumatized Child From Becoming A Traumatized Adult?
• Penn State: Helping parents understand infant sleep patterns
• In the Playroom: Helping Your Child’s Speech and Language
• Desert News – National: How raising kids within routines boosts social and emotional health
• The Atlantic: How Supportive Parenting Protects the Brain
• Why Don’t We Prepare Men for Fatherhood? Huffington Post

Online Learning Activities

• The Protective Factors Overview learning activity is an introduction for anyone who would like to gain a better understanding of the five Protective Factors. This interactive learning activity provides a synopsis of the five Protective Factors, their relevance and their characteristics, opportunities to practice identifying them and an understanding of how a strengths-based approach is integral to building these Protective Factors.
• Hospital for Sick Children: Why is it important to Comfort your child? (1:08)
• Love, a low tech solution – Laura Peterson, TEDx Talks (16:40)
• Parenting Newsletters and Other Parenting Resources from the University of WI Extensio n, includes audio podcasts and downloadable resources for expecting parents and parents of children in every stage – from infants through teenagers, related to developmental stages, temperament, and useful strategies for parents.
• Head Start: National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagment
• Zero to Three
• Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) presents complex and difficult issues for families, communities and home visiting programs. Research articles about IPV and its effects can be found at the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services’ Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Breastfeeding

• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) offers breastfeeding information and links to breastfeeding promotion and education resources .
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides breastfeeding information for families, communities, and health providers, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions, approaches to promotion and support, and recommendations for safe handling of human milk, and links to programs such as the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative .
•   AllBabiesCryBrochure

Parent Leadership

• Five Similarities Between Leadership and Parenting , Forbes Magazine, Brent Gleeson, 2014.
• Effective Leadership and Parenting for Challenging Times Foster Cline, MD. Happy Heart Families,
• Parenting Styles: the Situational Approach , Penn State Leadership Blog
• Leadership and Parenting:  Parallels , Penn State Leadership Blog
• Leadership Begins at Home , Michael McKinney, Leadership Minute: Building a Community of Leaders
• The   Role of the Parent Co-Presenter  learning activity is designed provide Parent Co-Presenters with an understanding of what is involved in co-facilitating the  Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work  training for family serving professionals. The learning activity defines the roles of the Parent Co-Presenter and the Certified Trainer. Video montages, by current Parent Co-Presenters, highlight the benefits of serving in this role and sharing one’s story in an impactful way.
• From Leadership to Parenthood:  The Applicability of Leadership Styles to Parenting Styles , Group Dynamics:  Theory, Research, and Practice, 2006, Vol. 10, No. 1, 43-56.
• Building Parent Leadership Manual, Georgia Dept. of Education.  This manual was created to assist organizations and parent leaders in organizing, planning, and implementing events, activities, and outreach programs to promote parent leadership in schools and communities.
• Parents Anonymous
• The Influence of Fathers on Young Children’s Development Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families

Poverty and Financial Capacity Building

• Stresses of Poverty May Impair Learning Ability in Young Children .   U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health
• Children in Poverty:  Key Facts About Child Poverty (Jan. 2019) Child Trends.
• Estimating the Economic Cost of Childhood Poverty in the United States , Social Work Research, Vol. 42, Issue 2, June 2018, found on Oxford Academic Social Work Research website.
• American Psychological Association’s journal, Monitor on Psychology, July/Aug. 2015 cover story, Fighting Poverty .  New research is finding ways to help people overcome poverty and avoid the mental and physical health problems associated with low socioeconomic status.
• How to Reduce Poverty in the United States , University for Poverty Research, UC Davis, 2015.
• Five Ways to End Poverty in the United States (BorgenProject.Org, 2016).  These tips help all of us think about the roles we can take to reduce poverty in our country.
• Poverty and Parenting Young Children: The Role of Parenting in the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty.  (Focus. Vol. 33, No. 2. Spring/Summer 2017. Found on Institute for Research on Poverty, UW-Madison’s website.)

Reports/Statistics

• United States Census Bureau’s I ncome and Poverty in the United States: 2015 . This report presents data on income, earnings, income inequality, and poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2016 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements (CPS ASEC) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
• United States Census Bureau’s Poverty Data , provides poverty data from several household surveys and programs. Here you can find poverty estimates, learn about these surveys and programs, and get guidance on how to choose the right estimate for your needs.
• Wisconsin Poverty Report: Treading Water in 2017: the Eleventh Annual Report of the Wisconsin Poverty Project (2019) is from the Wisconsin Poverty Project, Institute for the Research on Poverty, UW Madison.
• Poverty’s Effect on Infants and Toddlers Infographic (Sept. 2018).  Zero to Three.
• WI ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Report . United Way of Wisconsin 2016. Despite recent reports of overall improvement in employment and gains in median incomes, the economic recovery in Wisconsin has been uneven. This Report updates the cost of basic needs in the Household Survival Budget for each county in Wisconsin, and the number of households earning below the amount needed to afford that budget (the ALICE Threshold). The Report delves deeper into county and municipal data and looks at the demographics of ALICE and poverty-level households by race/ethnicity, age, and household type to reveal variations in hardship that are often masked by state averages.
• U.S. Census Bureau Library for Income and Poverty data contains static, printable materials.
• 2Gen Tools to Help Children and Families Thrive is a resource for programs implementing state, federal and local programs serving children and families, published by the Dept. of Education.
• Pediatricians’ Guide to Poverty Resources – Wisconsin
• Federal Poverty Guidelines determine enrollment in state health care and other programs.
• 99 Great Resources Confronting Poverty and Hunger , from MSWOnlinePorgrams.org, resources for social workers.
• National Center for Homeless Education Wisconsin data and information.
• Wisconsin Community Action Association , whose goal is to help low-income individuals and families escape poverty. WISCAP believes in personal and in community responsibility to ensure economic opportunity.
• Wisconsin Homeless Assistance Agencies , U.S. Housing and Urban Development.
• Benefits.gov – Your Path to Government Benefits in Wisconsin .
• Wisconsin Fathers for Children and Families: Legal Services for Low-Income Parents – Low Income Legal Resources by regions of the state.
• Financial Literacy Resource Directory provides information on financial literacy resources, issues and events that are important to bankers, organizations, and consumers of all ages. The directory includes descriptions and contact information for a sampling of organizations that have undertaken financial literacy initiatives as a primary mission, government programs, fact sheets, newsletters, conference materials, publications, and links to Web sites. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
• MyMoney.gov contains information, games and fun facts related to money, saving and planning for youth; curricula, tip sheets, lesson plans, guidance and helpful tools for teaching financial capability for teachers/educators; and a clearinghouse of federally-funded research reports, datasets, and articles on financial capability and related topics for researchers/other professionals.
• The Balance : The Balance Money Website is a great tool for people new to budgeting. “Use this budget calculator to plan for your savings goals and manage your expenses. Fill out all fields that apply to you and make adjustments to see how you could save more.”
• Good Budget : Share this budgeting website and app with families, help them to…“Spend, save, and give toward what’s important in life”

Tools for Professionals

• Your Money, Your Goals Toolkit i s a financial empowerment toolkit designed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The toolkit helps organizations understand when and how to introduce to clients’ financial empowerment concepts such as goal- setting, saving for emergencies, managing debts, understanding credit, and choosing safe and affordable financial products. English | Spanish
• National Human Services Directory (NHSA) is comprised of over 55 of the largest national nonprofit human service organizations. In aggregate, members and their affiliates and local service networks collectively touch, or are touched by, nearly every household in America—as consumers, donors, or volunteers.   NHSA staffs four different initiatives through which leaders can work together to improve family stability and well-being.  
•   9 Ways to Reduce Poverty, from PBS’s Raising of America:  Early Childhood and the Future of our Nation.

Pregnancy and Maternal Health

Professional Readings

• Breastfeeding Protects against Environmental Pollution.  (2015). Science Daily.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150522083414.htm
• Substance Abuse While Pregnant and Breastfeeding   https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/substance-use-in-women/substance-use-while-pregnant-breastfeeding
• Fetal Alcohol Exposure Fact Sheet.  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.  https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/FASDFactsheet/FASD.pdf
• Racial and Ethnic Infant Mortality Gaps and Socioeconomic Status (2014) Institute for Research on Poverty research publication. http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc311f.pdf
• Understanding Racial and Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Infant Mortality Rates.  Data Brief, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.  (2011). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db74.pdf
• The Periscope Project Website contains work from the Wisconsin project which hosts a consultation line and other resources to support professionals working with new parents, that may be struggling with perinatal mental health and depression.  This site provides information on screening guidelines and resources beyond the Perinatal Algorithm training. On the site you will find screening tools, educational modules/ videos and tools on a variety of perinatal mental health topics.
• Promote, coordinate and develop perinatal care in Wisconsin
• Aid in the development and implementation of programs to improve the health and health care of pregnant women and newborn infants
• Improve public understanding and awareness of perinatal health care
• Prenatal Care Coordination , Wisconsin Department of Health Services
• March of Dimes has information for families, communities, and professionals on a variety of topics designed to promote healthy pregnancies and babies, including prenatal care, and preterm labor and premature birth .
• Text4baby is a free health education text message service (with most cell carriers) for pregnant women and mothers of babies under one year of age. Anyone can sign up!
• National Maternal and Oral Health Resource Center   – Georgetown University https://www.mchoralhealth.org/highlights/pregnancy.php This collection of selected resources offers high-quality information about pregnancy and oral health. Use the website tools for further searching, or contact them for personalized assistance.
• Maternal and Child Health Bureau   https://mchb.hrsa.gov/ Covers MCH domains: maternal/women’s health, perinatal and infant health, child health, adolescent health, and children with special health care needs, data, research & epidemiology and more.
• Breastfeeding Facts and Research. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/index.htm   The CDC’s webpage includes Guidelines and Recommendation, Diseases and Conditions, Data and Statistics, Research, Promotion and Support, National Policies and Positions, Frequently Asked Questions.
• Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding – Medline Plus (U.S. National Library of Medicine) https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000803.htm
• Tip Sheet Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
• Saving Our Babies “The gap in birth outcomes between Black and white women in Dane County and Wisconsin has persisted for decades, while Black mothers and birthing people across the state face consistently higher rates of maternal deaths each year. We are collaborating across sectors to implement community-driven solutions to end this crisis and produce better birth outcomes for Black families.”
• Nips and Babes “Forging a way for all birthing people to access a new model of comprehensive care: quality doula, lactation, emotional and parenting supports in Dane County.”

Professional Practices and Skills

Competencies and Best Practices

• Challenges and Best Practices for Scaling Home Visiting Programs, New America education policy program, Conor P. Williams, 4/15/14.   
• Infant Mental Health Competency Guidelines for Infant Mental Health Endorsement , Providing services that promote healthy social-emotional development during the first years requires a unique knowledge base and skill set.  Learn more about the competency guidelines that provide a framework for establishing and recognizing expertise of professionals who work with pregnant women and families with children ages birth to 3 years old.
• Competencies and Best Practices, add Home Visiting:  Supporting Parents and Child Development, Zero to Three policy briefs and planning tools.
• Best Practices in Early Childhood Home Visiting , MSW research paper is a qualitative research exploration of the best practices surrounding the specific realm of home visiting, focused on ages three to five, specific to school readiness.  Author:  Shannon Melody Karsten
• Tips for Making Home Visits in Child Welfare, The New Social Worker
• FAN tool developed by Erikson’s Fussy Baby Network becomes a national model
• Motivational Interviewing
• Online Tutorials for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants, Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development free modules.
• The National Family Support Network’s Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support were issued by the California Network of Family Strengthening Networks (CNFSN) in 2012, and adopted by the National Family Support Network in 2013. They are the first and only standards in the country to integrate and operationalize the Principles of Family Support Practice with the Strengthening Families Frameworks and its research-based evidence-informed 5 Protective Factors. The vision is that their implementation will help ensure that families are supported and strengthened through quality practice.

Program Administration MIECHV Home Site

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program

Federally Recognized Evidenced-Based Home Visiting Models

• Healthy Families America
• Parents As Teachers
• Nurse-Family Partnership
• Early Headstart

Program Evaluation Professional Reading

• The 2017 W. K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook is designed for people with little or no experience with formal evaluation, making evaluation practices accessible to grantees, nonprofits and community leaders.
• Designing Evaluations , 2012 Revision Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Description: “This methodology transfer paper addresses the logic of program evaluation designs. It introduces key issues in planning evaluation studies of federal programs to best meet decision makers’ needs while accounting for the constraints evaluators face. It describes different types of evaluations for answering varied questions about program performance, the process of designing evaluation studies, and key issues to consider toward ensuring overall study quality.”
• How Nonprofits Can Use Data to Solve the World’s Problems , December 2012 Author: Victor Luckerson
• National Conference of State Legislatures, Home Visiting:  Improving Outcomes for Children (4/26/2018) .   
• Using Data to Measure Performance of Home Visiting explores a new framework for assessing effectiveness of home visiting programs. (2015)
• A Framework for Program Evaluation:  A Gateway to Tools provides a synthesis of existing best practices and a set of standards that can be applied in almost any setting.  It provides a stable guide to design and conduct a wide range of evaluation efforts in a variety of specific program areas, made available through the Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas – Community Toolbox.
• An Introduction to Evidence-based Programming is an implementation resource guide for social service programs provided by the Office of Family Assistance, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Other Evalaution Resources Purpose Statement: This page is a list of evaluation resources such as: program evaluation guides/manuals, manuals on specific evaluation steps (e.g., logic models, data collection methods), evaluation-related websites, key professional associations and journals.
• MDRC, Design Options for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Evaluation (DOHVE) Project Resources Purpose Statement: This page is a list of resources for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs (such as WI’s Family Foundations home visiting sites) on issues related to strengthening their evaluations of promising programs, developing and adapting data systems to facilitate tracking and reporting on federal benchmarks, and implementing quality improvement systems.
• American Evaluation Association Purpose Statement: The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEA has approximately 7300 members representing all 50 states in the U.S. as well as over 60 foreign countries.

Research/Frameworks in Home Visiting Professional Reading

Specific reports/articles:

• Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness Review , Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, April, 2024
• Visiting Nurses, Helping Mothers on the Margins , New York Times
• Opening Up Avenues of Success for New Parents , Huffington Post
• Which families gain most from home visiting? , PeventionAction.Org
• Policy solutions that work for low-income people , CLASP
• Home Visiting Programs: An Early Test for the 114th Congress , Brookings
• Police chiefs call on Congress to fund home visits for at-risk mothers , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• EDUCATION: Home visits promote early learning , The Press-Enterprise
• Home Visiting Family Support Programs: Benefits of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program .
• Home Visiting:  A Service Strategy to Reduce Poverty and Mitigate Its Consequences , in the Academic Pediatrics Journal.  (2016)
• County Health Rankings & Roadmaps , sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, features the expected beneficial outcomes, other potential beneficial outcomes, evidence of effectiveness, implementation examples and resources.

Journals that often carry Home Visiting research articles:

• Children and Youth Services Review
• Prevention Science
• Tribal Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness Review: Process and Results , USDHS, February 28, 2011
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness
• Pew Charitable Trust, Center on the States, home Visiting Campaign, Research
• Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project
• Nurse Family Partnership – “Proven Results” (includes links to internal and external research)
• Darkness to Light
•   National Home Visiting Resource Center provides comprehensive information about early childhood home visiting. Its goal is to support sound decisions in policy and practice to help children and families thrive.
• Sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) offers a thorough and transparent review of the home visiting research literature and assess evidence of effectiveness for home visiting programs that serve families with pregnant women and children from birth to age 5.
• HRSA Maternal & Child Health The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program gives pregnant women and families, particularly those considered at-risk, necessary resources and skills to raise children who are physically, socially, and emotionally healthy and ready to learn. Learn more about home visiting, evidence-based models, current grantees, research and development platform, outcomes measures and download the 2017 Home Visiting Infographic related to MIECHV funded programs.https://mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-initiatives/home-visiting-overview
• Nurse Family Partnership: Helping First-Time Parents Succeed . Learn about this evidence-based nursing model of home visiting on their website.
• Head Start Learning Outcomes Framework resents five broad areas of early learning, referred to as central domains. The framework is designed to show the continuum of learning for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. It is grounded in comprehensive research around what young children should know and be able to do during their early years. Explore this framework through interactive software .
• Head Start’s Framework for Effective Practice uses the model of a house to represent five integral elements of quality teaching and learning for children ages birth to 5.
• Tribal Evaluation Institute’s mission is to help Tribal Home Visiting Program grantees build capacity in gathering, using and sharing information to improve the health and well-being of children and families.  The website makes the TEI technical assistance resources available to a broader audience of tribal program staff, community members and professionals who partner with tribal communities.
• Family Spirit Home Visiting Program is a unique, evidence-based home-visiting model with a reputation for success: dependability with flexibility. It addresses intergenerational behavioral health problems, applies local cultural assets, and overcomes deficits in the professional healthcare workforce in low-resource communities. It is the only evidence-based home-visiting program ever designed for, by, and with American Indian families.
• Adverse Childhood Experience’s (ACE’s) Study Video Summary
• Example of home visiting/coaching

Self-Care Articles

• The Power of Good Habits – Using High-Performance Habits to Achieve Significant Goals , Mind Tools
• How to Transform Stress into Courage and Connection , Greater Good – the Science of a Meaningful Life
• Stress Diaries – Identifying Causes of Short-Term Stress , Mind Tools
• Doing More Than One Job – How to Juggle Multiple Roles at Work , Mind Tools
• Minimizing Distractions – Managing Your Work Environment , Mind Tools
• Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Fact Sheet for Child-Serving Professionals , The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
• The Importance of Mindfulness , PsychAlive (2:41)
• What is self-care and why is it important?, Anna Freud NCCF (2:55)

Sound Beginnings Module Resources

• Sound Beginnings Website
• Hearing Milestones Checklist
• Vision Milestones Checklist Strengthening Family Coping Resources

Strengthening Family Coping Resources

• Strengthening Family Coping Resources for Home Visitors (SFCR-HV) is an adaptation of SFCR, a trauma-focused, multi-family, skill-building intervention. The Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership has two resources for home visitors to use when practicing SFCR:  Strengthening Family Coping Resources: A Guide for Home Visitors  and  Strengthening Family Coping Resources: A Module for Home Visitors.
• The Protective Factors Overview learning activity is an introduction for anyone who would like to gain a better understanding of the five Protective Factors. This interactive learning activity provides a synopsis of the five Protective Factors, their relevance and their characteristics, opportunities to practice identifying them and an understanding of how a strengths-based approach is integral to building these Protective Factors
• Strengthening Family Coping Resources (SFCR) is a manualized, trauma-focused, skill-building intervention. You can learn more about SFCR by visiting their main website .

Substance Abuse

Online Modules

• Relationships Matter!   Learn what professionals need to know about the role of relationships in the lives of women with mental health and substance use issues.  Transcripts, slides and audio recordings of the 2017 SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) webinars available. Online registration for these tutorials required. Tutorials are free to earn a Certificate of Completion, fee of $7.50 to earn NAADAC or NBCC CE units.
• National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) – U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Understanding Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Family Recovery: A Guide for Child Welfare Professionals .     This free tutorial requires online registration with the NCSACW.
• Understanding Substance Abuse and Facilitating Recovery: A Guide For Child Welfare Workers , PDF
• Parenting Under the Influence: The Effects of Opioids, Alcohol and Cocaine on Mother-Child Interaction , Author(s): Slesnick, Natasha.;Feng, Xin.;Brakenhoff, Brittany.;Brigham, Gregory S. Published: 2014, Journal Name: Addictive Behaviors
• World Health Organization Guidelines on Substance Use and Pregnancy , PDF
• Coalition Against Substance Abuse
• The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think , Huffington Post
• A parent’s heroin addiction, a newborn’s death sentence , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Supporting Infants, Toddlers, and Families Impacted by Caregiver Mental Health Problems, Substance Abuse, and Trauma: A Community Guide 2012 SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• What are the Effects of Maternal Cocaine Use?
• Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood: a Research-based Guide highlights seven evidence-based principles of prevention for use in the early years of a child’s life (prenatal through age 8), developed from research funded in full or part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  This guide also lists evidence-based prevention and intervention programs that work with different populations and age groups.
• Drugs, Brains, and Behavior:  The Science of Addiction. This publication aims to help readers understand why people become addicted to drugs and how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug use by providing scientific information about the disease of drug addiction, including the many harmful consequences of drug abuse and the basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat substance use disorders.
• Sex and Gender Differences in Substance Use, DrugFacts (2015). Do special issues related to women’s hormones, menstrual cycle, fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause impact their struggle with drug use?
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Fact Sheet Series.   SAMHSA provides many different downloadable fact sheets related to alcohol abuse, including: The Physical Effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Effects of Alcohol on Women, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and the Criminal Justice System, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders by the Numbers, and more.
• DrugFacts .  Information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse describes methamphetamine, how it’s used, how it affects the brain, its short and long-term affects on users and treatment.
• This guide to Assessment and Intervention in the Home: Women and Infants Affected by Opioids is offered by the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care.
•   My Baby and Me is a program through the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation that is designed to help women with their alcohol use during pregnancy.
• Bath Salt Intervention (3) Power Point Presentation
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Factsheets The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Center for Excellence recently published two Technical Assistance (TA) Impact fact sheets.
• The Recovery of Hope This video helps women explore the ramifications of their substance abuse during pregnancy, as women share their personal stories.
• Born Addicted
• Working with Pregnant Women with a History of Substance Abuse
• Pregnancy and Drug Use
• The Growing Issue of Women and Substance Abuse
• Sex and Gender Differences of Importance to Addiction Science. (5:29 min.)  National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• The Reward Circuit:  How the Brain Responds to Methamphetamine  (2:40 min)  https://www.drugabuse.gov/videos/reward-circuit-how-brain-responds-to-methamphetamine
• My Baby and Me  https://www.wwhf.org/mybabyandme/   A free program, sponsored by the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation, to help Wisconsin women achieve a healthy and alcohol-free pregnancy through screenings, research-based education, phone counseling and text message support.
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. CDC’s webpage that defines Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and provides facts, causes, signs, diagnosis and treatment information.  Headings on this web page include:  Research and Tracking, Data and Statistics, Free Materials, Alcohol Use During Pregnancy, Education and Training, Articles, Multimedia and Tools, and Information for Specific Groups. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/index.html
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIAAA supports and conducts research on the impact of alcohol use on human health and well-being. It is the largest funder of alcohol research in the world. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

Supervision/Reflective Supervision

• “6 Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation”, 2020, Kaplan
• What is Reflective Supervision?
• Reflective Supervision: A Planning Tool for Home Visiting Supervisors

Reflective Supervision: What We Know and What We Need to Know to Support and Strengthen the Home Visiting Workforce

Honoring Race and Diversity in Reflective Supervision: Guiding Principles to Enhance Relationships

• Three building blocks of Reflective Supervision Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health, Best Practices and Guideline for Reflective Supervision , Zero to Three

Trauma/Brain Development

•   Recognizing and Addressing Trauma in Infants, Young Children and their Families.   “This five module tutorial, from the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, addresses the effects of trauma on young children and their families, healing and recovery, resources, publications and interventions for childhood mental health consultants and family support professionals.” https://www.ecmhc.org/tutorials/trauma/index.html
• Congressional Briefing: Elizabeth Hudson remarks Elizabeth Hudson addresses the mental health impact of violence and trauma on children. Elizabeth Hudson is a Trauma-Informed Care Consultant; University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health; Consultant to the Wisconsin Department of Health Sevrices.
• Jill Botle Taylor’s Stroke of Insight Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.
• How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime (16:03) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease.
• The Paradox of Trauma (12:23) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFdn9479U3s Dr. Vicky Kelly, psychotherapist, administrator, and consultant is also a nationally known trainer in the areas of trauma and attachment. The common thread across her career has been helping victims of trauma heal. She has been an early advocate for human services to adopt “trauma-informed care,” an approach that calls for a focus not just on someone’s behavior, but, more importantly, on what drives behavior.
• How Do We Stop Childhood Adversity from Becoming a Life Sentence? (15:54) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0kV7JtWiE Adverse childhood experiences are physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect as well as witnessing family violence, addiction or mental health episodes in the household. Evidence on the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences is presented-to give a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Research is presented which demonstrates a direct link between the level of adversity in childhood and worse outcomes in adulthood related to health, addiction, imprisonment, education and life success and evidence from the field of neuroscience, which explains this link. Ways to prevent and respond to childhood adversity and support victims are presented
• The Center for the Developing Child Short PDF article regarding Early Childhood Mental Health
• A series of information and tutorials from the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation.
• Creating a Culture of Care This toolkit is the result of the STARS project trauma-informed care project, sponsored by the Texas Dept. of State Health Services (2011). The toolkit can be used across human service settings and was developed broadly for this purpose.
• Creating a Trauma Informed HV Program Issue Brief . This issue brief features useful strategies for implementing trauma-informed care in home visiting programs and the section Snapshots of Success From the Field: Trauma-Informed Approaches in Home Visiting , highlights Wisconsin home visiting programs.”

• Black Children
• Indigenous Children

5 Things to Know About Early Childhood Home Visiting

• Lauren Supplee

Early childhood home visiting is a type of family support targeted to expectant parents and parents of children birth to age 5. Trained home visitors provide services and support for parents and their children in their homes, where they may feel most comfortable. Parents who choose to participate in home visits may receive information on child development, health, and well-being, and on sources of support for parents themselves. Parents also learn about available services such as developmental screenings, and enrollment in any benefits they—or their children—may need.

States use a mix of federal, state, and foundation funding to support home visiting programs, and expenditures nationally may now exceed $1 billion. [1] Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting ( MIECHV ) is one federal effort that facilitates the implementation of evidence-based home visiting programs. In fiscal year 2015, MIECHV-supported home visiting programs served 165,500 parents and children in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, five territories, and 25 tribal entities.

There has been a great deal of research , over many decades, examining the use of home visiting to reach vulnerable children and families. Based on this research, here are five things to know:

1 Evidence shows that home visiting programs benefit children and families.

Research on early childhood models has demonstrated impacts for children and families across different outcome areas . There are many different home visiting models, serving children of different ages or targeting different outcomes (e.g., health, education, child abuse, employment, etc.). Some models target only one outcome while others try to improve a wide range of outcomes. Improving many outcomes versus one is not necessarily better or worse, in terms of effectiveness. Most evidence-based home visiting models (i.e., those with evidence of effectiveness) demonstrate favorable impacts on child development, school readiness, and positive, supportive parenting practices. Evidence-based home visiting models have shown positive long-term impacts on children in the long term, via increased school readiness , reduced child maltreatment , and reduced lifetime arrests and convictions . Evidence-based home visiting programs also show positive impacts for families, such as increased parental income and increased percentages of parents who live together .

2 Frequency of home visits vary by program.

Evidence-based home visiting programs use a wide range of recommended numbers of visits over different time span s . Models such as Family Connects and Family Check Up recommend three visits with a family. Other models, such as Healthy Families America and Nurse Family Partnership , begin seeing families in pregnancy or early infancy and may continue for multiple years. The frequency of visits may vary by the age of the child and the needs of the family. However, more research is needed on the optimal number and length of visits, generally.

3 Some models require rigid implementation, while others are more flexible.

Some home visiting models have a specific curriculum or specific measures they want home visitors to use with families. Some models specify staffing requirements, such as level of education or experience. Other models allow for flexibility in all or some of the program elements. Some implementing agencies (which may be nonprofits, hospitals, universities, county health departments, etc.) find it helpful to have everything packaged and ready to begin implementing, while others want more flexibility. However, there is currently little research on the extent to which giving implementing agencies the ability to be flexible and tailor their programs is related to greater impacts for families.

4 Fathers benefit from participation in home visiting programs.

Dads have reported home visiting programs helped them with their parenting skills and ability to co-parent, and with information about services to help them find jobs and participate in job training. However, research has shown that it is not always easy to include dads . Staff who work in home visiting programs may not have training on the best ways to include fathers in home visits. Sometimes dads are seen as less involved because they may not be present at the visits . However, if dads see the benefits of participating to learn about child development and ways to be better parents, this way of serving families may be a great way to reach fathers.

5 Home visiting models should account for community needs and resources.

Research suggests that in the process of choosing a home visiting model , there are benefits to assessing your community’s needs, goals, and available resources, and the fit of the evidence-based model you are considering. If the chosen model is not a good fit for a community, it may not achieve the outcomes desired , even if it has been effective in other settings. There is growing research examining model selection, the fit of a model to a community, and adaptations of models to meet unique program or community needs.

[1] Congressional Research Service estimate in 2009 suggested $750 million to 1 billion, and the MIECHV Program is now up to $400 million annually.

Newsletters

• I would like updates on Child Trends research
• I would like updates about upcoming webinars
• I would like alerts about job openings
• I would like updates on Black children & families research

© Copyright 2024 ChildTrends Privacy Statement

• Child Welfare
• Early Childhood
• Hispanic Children
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Government Contract Vehicles
• Research Independence
• Technical Assistance

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Early intervention and special education services for children

Learn how to get your child evaluated for early intervention and special education services to help with their development and learning.

Early intervention services

Early intervention programs can provide support and services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. These services will depend on the needs of your child. They can include speech therapy, physical therapy, and more. Every U.S. state and territory offers early intervention services. 

• For children from birth to 3 years old - contact your state’s early intervention service for information on how to receive services.
• For children 3 years or older - contact your local elementary school or school district to request an evaluation. Your child can be evaluated even if they do not attend public school.

Special education services

Special education services are designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities. When students qualify for special education, they receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP plans out instruction and resources to best support each child. These resources are available at no cost to families. 

• Learn more about the process of having your child’s needs identified, and special education services put in place. 
• If you have concerns about your child’s development, you can request an evaluation through your local school district. Your child can be evaluated even if they do not attend public school.

Where else to get help

• You may be able to find additional educational support services in your state through Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs). They provide information and services for children and young adults from birth to ages 26 and their families. Find a Parent Center in your state.
• If you have concerns that your child is not receiving the special education services they need, learn about communicating with your state education department and filing a complaint if necessary .

Find more government programs to help during pregnancy and early childhood.

Having a child and early childhood

LAST UPDATED: September 4, 2024

Have a question?

Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They will get you the answer or let you know where to find it.

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
• Administration for Children & Families
• Upcoming Events
• Open an Email-sharing interface
• Open to Share on Facebook
• Open to Share on Twitter
• Open to Share on Pinterest
• Open to Share on LinkedIn

Prefill your email content below, and then select your email client to send the message.

Recipient e-mail address:

Send your message using:

Home-based Option

Many children and parents receive Early Head Start and Head Start services right in their own home! Home visitors come once a week and work with parents and their children. Together, the home visitor and parents watch and think about the child. They plan ways to help the child learn using parent-child interactions, daily routines, and household materials. A small group of children, parents, and their home visitors also gets together on a monthly basis for group socializations.

Explore Resources

Head start regulations related to the home-based option, home visitor supervisor’s handbook, home visitor's online handbook, home-based parent video series, connecting research to practice, home visiting series, mobile tools for home visitors.

Resource Type: Article

National Centers: Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety

Last Updated: July 8, 2024

• Privacy Policy
• Freedom of Information Act
• Accessibility
• Disclaimers
• Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
• Viewers & Players

Teaching Financial Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms

• Published: 03 September 2024

Cite this article

• Saigeetha Jambunathan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7894-3955 1 ,
• Jale Aldemir   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8515-3708 2 &
• J. D. Jayaraman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3904-281X 3  

The importance of financial literacy has gained attention worldwide in the last few years. The National Financial Educators Council (2013) defines financial literacy “as possessing the skills and knowledge on financial matters to confidently take effective action that best fulfills an individual’s personal, family and global community goals.” Financial literacy is an essential 21st century global skill for everyone to have. This is a practical article that investigates the importance of financial literacy education in early childhood classrooms, with vignettes from various early childhood classrooms where teachers are teaching financial literacy concepts. The present paper will also bring to light the importance of being purposive and intentional in teaching financial literacy concepts in early childhood classrooms. The authors bring to light the importance of training the teachers to teach these concepts. They argue that when teachers are confident about the content, they not only feel good about teaching it, but they are also able to provide depth in their teaching as well. In addition, the authors also provide guidelines grounded in research on how to successfully be intentional and purposive in teaching financial literacy concepts in early childhood classrooms. Finally, this article presents a compilation of appropriate resources and strategies teachers can use to teach this important concept in their classroom and partner with the parents to continue teaching these concepts at home as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Explore related subjects

• Artificial Intelligence

Amagir, A., Groot, W., van den Maassen, H., & Wilschut, A. (2018). A review of financial-literacy education programs for children and adolescents. Citizenship Social and Economics Education , 17 (1), 56–80.

Article   Google Scholar  

Batty, M., Collins, M. J., & Odders-White, E. (2015). Experimental evidence on the effects of financial education on elementary school students’ knowledge, behavior, and attitudes. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 49 (1), 69–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12058

Berenstain, S., & Berenstain, J. (1983). The Berenstain Bears’ trouble with money . Random House.

Birbili, M., & Kontopoulou, M. (2015). Financial education for preschoolers: Preparing young children for the 21st century. Childhood Education , 91 , 46–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2015.1001670

Boelts, M. (2016). A bike like Sergio’s . Candlewick Press.

Breitbard, S. H., & Reynolds, C. G. (2003). Jump-starting financial literacy. Journal of Accountancy , 196 (6), 56.

Google Scholar  

Brenner, M. E. (1998). Meaning and money. Educational Studies in Mathematics , 36 (2), 123–155.

Brown, M., Henchoz, C., & Spycher, T. (2018). Culture and financial literacy: Evidence from a within-country language border. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization , 150 , 62–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.03.011

Collins, J. M. (2012). Financial advice: A substitute for financial literacy? Financial Services Review , 21 (4), 307.

Cook, J. (2024). I am money. Sourcebooks.

Drever, A. I., Odders-White, E., Kalish, C. W., Else-Quest, N. M., Hoagland, E. M., & Nelms, E. M. (2015). Foundations of financial well-being: Insights into the role of executive function, financial socialization, and experience-based learning in childhood and youth. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 49 (1), 13–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12068

Elliott, W., Kite, B., O’Brien, M., Lewis, M., & Palmer, A. (2018). Initial elementary education findings from Promise Indiana’s children’s savings account program. Children and Youth Services Review , 85 , 295–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.01.004

Fabris, N., & Luburić, R. (2016). Financial education of children and youth. Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, 5(2) , 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcbtp-2016-0011

Friedline, T. (2015). A developmental perspective on children’s economic agency. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 49 (1), 39–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12062

Go, C. G., Varcoe, K., Eng, T., Pho, W., & Choi, L. (2012). Money savvy youth: Evaluating the effectiveness of financial education for fourth and fifth graders. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper , 2 .

Gold, L. A. (2016). Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding Financial Literacy in Kindergarten Through Grade 2 (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University).

Grody, A. D., Grody, D., Kromann, E., & Sutliff, J. (2008). A financial literacy and financial services program for elementary school grades: Results of a pilot study. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1132388

Grohmann, A., Kouwenberg, R., & Menkhoff, L. (2015). Childhood roots of financial literacy. Journal of Economic Psychology , 51 , 114–133.

Hapsari, D. T., Suryono, Y., & Amiliya, R. (2019). 21st century skills; the effect of Project based learning to financial literacy on children aged 5–6 years. EARR (Educational Administration Research and Review) , 3 (2), 85–93.

Henning, M. B., & Lucey, T. A. (2017). Elementary preservice teachers’ and teacher educators’ perceptions of financial literacy education. The Social Studies , 108 (4), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2017.1343792

Huang, J., Nam, Y., & Sherraden, M. S. (2013). Financial knowledge and child development account policy: A test of financial capability. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 47 (1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12000

Human Resources Working Group. (2014). APEC guidebook on financial and economic literacy in basic education . Division of International Organization Department of International Cooperation and Exchange Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. APEC#214-HR-03.1.

Jayaraman, J. D., Jambunathan, S., & Adesanya, R. (2019). Financial literacy and classroom practices among early childhood and elementary teachers in India and the US. Education 3–13 , 47 (6), 746–759. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2018.1533030

Jayaraman, J. D., Jambunathan, S., & Adesanya, R. (2022). Preparedness of early childhood teachers to teach financial literacy: Evidence from the US. Education 3–13 , 50 (8), 1121–1136. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2021.1939399

John, D., & Miles, N. (2023). Little Daymond learns to earn . Random House.

Johnson, E., & Sherraden, M. S. (2007). From financial literacy to financial capability among youth. The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare , 34 , 119.

Klapper, L., & Lusardi, A. (2020). Financial literacy and financial resilience: Evidence from around the world. Financial Management Autumn , 49 , 589–614.

Lee, K. (2021). What is money? Little Mice Publication.

Lucey, T. A., & Maxwell, S. A. (2011). Teaching mathematical connections to financial literacy in grades k-8: Clarifying the issues. Investigations in Mathematics Learning , 3 (3), 46–65.

Lusardi, A. (2015). Financial literacy skills for the 21st century: Evidence from PISA. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 49 (3), 639–659.

Lusardi, A. (2019). Financial literacy and the need for financial education: Evidence and implications. Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics , 155 (1), 1–8.

Lusardi, A., & Messy, F. A. (2023). The importance of financial literacy and its impact on financial wellbeing. Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing , 1 (1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/flw.2023.8

Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014). The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Literature , 52 (1), 5–44.

Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. S., & Curto, V. (2010). Financial literacy among the young. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 44 (2), 358–380.

McKinney, C. W., McKinney, K. C., Larkins, A. G., Gilmore, A. C., & Ford, M. J. (1990). Preservice elementary education majors’ knowledge of economics. Journal of Social Studies Research, 14 (2), 26–58.

OECD (2023). OECD/INFE 2023 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy, OECD Business and Finance Policy Papers , No. 39, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/56003a32-en

Otter, D. (2010). Teaching financial literacy in K–12 schools: A survey of teacher beliefs and knowledge . The University of New Mexico.

Peer, S. (2022). Moneytopia: Saving . Kind Grit Books.

Pramitasari, M., Syarah, E. S., Risnawati, E., & Tanjung, K. S. (2023). Early childhood financial literacy: A systematic literature review. Atfaluna: Journal of Islamic Early Childhood Education , 6 (1), 1–11.

Saputra, J., & Susanti, D. (2021). A study of several financial literacy teaching methods for children. International Journal of Ethno-Sciences and Education Research, 1 (2), 7–10.

Schug, M. C., & Hagedorn, E. A. (2005). The money savvy pig goes to the big city: Testing the effectiveness of an economics curriculum for young children. The Social Studies , 96 , 68–71. https://doi.org/10.3200/TSSS.96.2.68-71

Sekita, S. (2011). Financial literacy and retirement planning in Japan. Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , 10 (4), 637–656.

Shim, S., Barber, B. L., Card, N. A., Xiao, J. J., & Serido, J. (2010). Financial socialization of first-year college students: The roles of parents, work, and education. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 39 , 1457–1470.

Silver, E. A., Mesa, V. M., Morris, K. A., Star, J. R., & Benken, B. M. (2009). Teaching mathematics for understanding: An analysis of lessons submitted by teachers seeking NBPTS certification. American Educational Research Journal , 46 (2), 501–531. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831208326559

The National Financial Educators Council (2023). Retrieved on February 6, 2024 from https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/

Viorst, J. (1978). Alexander, who used to be rich last Sunday (1st ed.). Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Way, W. L., & Holden, K. C. (2009). 2009 Outstanding AFCPE Conference Paper Teachers’ Background and Capacity to Teach Personal Finance: Results of a National Study. Journal of Financial Counseling & Planning , 20 (2).

Webley, P., & Nyhus, E. K. (2006). Parents’ influence on children’s future orientation and saving. Journal of Economic Psychology , 27 (1), 140–164.

Webley, P., & Nyhus, E. K. (2013). Economic socialization, saving and assets in European young adults. Economics of Education Review , 33 , 19–30.

Wells, R. (2008). Max’s Bunny Business . Viking Children’s Books.

Whitmer, R. (2015). Knowing money: Financial literacy becomes part of K-12 culture with focus on future. District Administration . Professional Media Group, LLC.

Williams, V. B. (1982). A chair for my mother , First edition. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Worth, B. (2008). One cent, two cents, old cent, new cent . Random House.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Teaching, Learning and Literacy New Jersey City University, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Saigeetha Jambunathan

Department of Teaching and Learning, Coppin State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Jale Aldemir

Department of Finance, New Jersey City University, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

J. D. Jayaraman

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saigeetha Jambunathan .

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Jambunathan, S., Aldemir, J. & Jayaraman, J.D. Teaching Financial Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms. Early Childhood Educ J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01740-7

Download citation

Accepted : 03 August 2024

Published : 03 September 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01740-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Financial literacy
• Early childhood education
• Teacher education
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Cookies on Teaching Vacancies

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use this service and help us improve it. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

beta This is a new service - your feedback will help us to improve it.

Early Childhood Educator - Ark Start St Clement

53 days remaining to apply, start date details.

As soon as possible

Closing date

28 October 2024 at 12pm (midday)

Date listed

2 September 2024

Job details

• View all Suitable for early career teachers jobs

Visa sponsorship

Working pattern, contract type, full-time equivalent salary, what skills and experience we're looking for.

• To ensure a high standard of physical, emotional, social, and intellectual care for all children in their care
• To ensure all children are safeguarded and their welfare and safety is promoted
• To provide an enabling environment in which all children can play, learn, and develop
• To have the skill, creativity, commitment, energy, and enthusiasm required to deliver excellent provision.
• To promote the aims and objectives of the nursery
• To promote the high standards of the nursery at all times to parents, staff, and visitors
• To follow the nursery safeguarding procedure to ensure all children are kept safe, well, and secure
• To ensure the provision of high standards of physical and emotional care
• To work with families and parents / carers
• To keep records of your children’s development and learning journals and share this with parents and carers and ensure all record keeping is up to date and accurate
• Liaise with the local authority and other external agencies as required
• Undertake required domestic jobs within the nursery as required
• Participate fully in team meetings and training
• Read, understand, and adhere to all policies and procedures within the nursery
• Ensure good standards of safety, hygiene and cleanliness are maintained
• Washing and changing children when required
• Ensure mealtimes are pleasant social experience
• Ensure poorly children are tended to and parents informed immediately
• To provide cover when required
• To undertake any other duties as determined by the management
• Actively promote the safety and welfare of our children and young people
• Ensure compliance with Ark Start data protection rules and procedures
• Liaise with colleagues and external contacts at all levels of seniority with confidence, tact, and diplomacy
• Work with colleagues and other nurseries and schools in the Ark network, to establish good practice, offering support where required.

What the school offers its staff

A Real Living Wage Employer: We are a Real Living Wage employer with a minimum salary of £13.15 per hour for all roles in London. We also pay 11% pension contributions

Ongoing Learning: We are committed to providing the best development for all our staff. We close the nurseries for five days each year to focus on staff training and ensure there is protected time for training and supervision each week for every adult. We work hard to ensure there are clear career progression routes

Annual leave: We are proud of our staff and want everyone to feel valued for playing their part. That’s why staff receive 25 days holiday each year, excluding bank holidays

Wellbeing: Staff wellbeing is incredibly important to us. We know that while incredibly rewarding, working in a nursery can be challenging. We therefore work hard to ensure all staff have the support and infrastructure they need to take care of their wellbeing

Part of a Network: Ark Start is part of Ark, a charity that aims to transform children’s lives through education. Ark operates a network of 39 schools across London, Birmingham, Portsmouth, and Hastings as well as a number of charitable ventures. Being part of a network means our staff get access to the opportunities, infrastructure, and support of a large organisation

Commitment to safeguarding

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

All employees must undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs are not accepted.

Upload additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

About Ark Schools

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 28,500 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

Arranging a visit to Ark Schools

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email [email protected] .

Head office location

Similar jobs nearby.

Early Childhood Educator - Ark Start John Archer

Ark Schools

1 Nicholas Road, London, W11 4AN

Early Childhood Educator - Ark Start Brunel

Level 2 Early Years Practitioner - Limebrook Primary School & Nursery

Lion Academy Trust

155 Canterbury Road, Leyton, E10 6EJ

Level 3 Early Years Practitioner - Limebrook Primary School & Nursery

Get a job alert when similar jobs are listed

Find more school jobs in London

• Environment
• Science & Technology
• Business & Industry
• Health & Public Welfare
• Topics (CFR Indexing Terms)
• Public Inspection
• Presidential Documents
• Document Search
• Advanced Document Search
• Public Inspection Search
• Reader Aids Home
• Office of the Federal Register Announcements
• Using FederalRegister.Gov
• Understanding the Federal Register
• Recent Site Updates
• Federal Register & CFR Statistics
• Videos & Tutorials
• Developer Resources
• Government Policy and OFR Procedures
• Congressional Review
• My Clipboard
• My Comments
• My Subscriptions
• Sign In / Sign Up
• Site Feedback
• Search the Federal Register

This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official electronic version on GPO’s govinfo.gov.

The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. This prototype edition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR) issues a regulation granting it official legal status. For complete information about, and access to, our official publications and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA's archives.gov.

The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned publication in the future. While every effort has been made to ensure that the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with the official SGML-based PDF version on govinfo.gov, those relying on it for legal research should verify their results against an official edition of the Federal Register. Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML rendition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov does not provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts.

Design Updates: As part of our ongoing effort to make FederalRegister.gov more accessible and easier to use we've enlarged the space available to the document content and moved all document related data into the utility bar on the left of the document. Read more in our feature announcement .

Request for Information on Identifying and Tracking Data Related to Early Childhood Education Providers

A Notice by the Education Department on 06/20/2024

This document has been published in the Federal Register . Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agency Department of Education Agency/Docket Number Docket ID ED-2024-OPE-0072 Document Citation 89 FR 51878 Document Number 2024-13446 Document Type Notice Pages 51878-51880 (3 pages) Publication Date 06/20/2024 Published Content - Document Details
• View printed version (PDF)
• Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Comments Close 07/22/2024 Dates Text We must receive your comments by July 22, 2024. Published Content - Document Dates

This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents. This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links has no substantive legal effect.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Supplementary information:.

Comments are no longer being accepted. See DATES for details.

285 comments have been received at Regulations.gov.

Agencies review all submissions and may choose to redact, or withhold, certain submissions (or portions thereof). Submitted comments may not be available to be read until the agency has approved them.

FederalRegister.gov retrieves relevant information about this document from Regulations.gov to provide users with additional context. This information is not part of the official Federal Register document.

Request for Information on For-Profit Early Childhood Education Providers

• Sharing Enhanced Content - Sharing Shorter Document URL https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-13446 Email Email this document to a friend Enhanced Content - Sharing
• Print this document

Document page views are updated periodically throughout the day and are cumulative counts for this document. Counts are subject to sampling, reprocessing and revision (up or down) throughout the day.

This document is also available in the following formats:

More information and documentation can be found in our developer tools pages .

This PDF is the current document as it appeared on Public Inspection on 06/18/2024 at 8:45 am.

It was viewed 0 times while on Public Inspection.

If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507 . Learn more here .

Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following:

• the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
• the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to
• the agency docket number / agency internal file number
• the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.

Department of Education

• [Docket ID ED-2024-OPE-0072]

Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

Request for information.

This notice is a request for information in the form of written comments that include information, research, and suggestions regarding operational aspects of the possible inclusion of for-profit early childhood education providers as eligible employers for the purpose of Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

We must receive your comments by July 22, 2024.

Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please ( print page 51879) contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . The Department will not accept comments by email or by fax. To ensure that the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. Additionally, please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under the “FAQ” tab.

Privacy Note: The Department's policy for comments received from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov . Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly available. We encourage, but do not require, that each respondent include their name, title, institution or affiliation, and the name, title, mailing and email addresses, and telephone number of a contact person for the institution or affiliation, if any.

Greg Marak. Telephone: (202) 401-6250. You may also email your questions to [email protected] , but as described above, comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

Background:

Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program in 2007 as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Public Law 110-84 , to encourage individuals to enter into and remain employed in public service professions. The program alleviates financial burdens associated with Federal Direct Loans for borrowers working for certain public service providers by forgiving all remaining loan balances following 10 years of public service while the borrower makes qualifying student loan payments. Since its creation in 2007, PSLF has been available to borrowers working for government at all levels, non-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and other non-profits that provide at least one of the specific services listed in the statute. This includes early care educators who work in the public sector or for non-profit organizations.

A significant share of early care educators, however, are not considered public sector or non-profit employees and current regulations do not provide a pathway for their eligibility for PSLF. Data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education, conducted by the Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, estimates that extending PSLF eligibility to early childhood education (ECE) workers regardless of the tax status of their employer would allow more than 450,000 additional ECE workers to earn credit toward PSLF—about 68,000 who work in home-based settings and 390,000 who work in center-based settings—if they have student loans. [ 1 ] This reflects roughly one-third of the overall ECE workforce.

On July 13, 2022, the Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register ( 87 FR 41878 ). [ 2 ] In the NPRM, the Department proposed improvements to PSLF that reduce regulatory and administrative barriers that have historically made it more difficult for borrowers to make progress toward forgiveness under PSLF. This included simplifying criteria to help borrowers certify employment, helping borrowers earn progress toward PSLF for months that did not count before, and providing borrowers with more opportunities to correct problems with PSLF.

Additionally, in the NPRM, the Department asked directed questions about the possibility of allowing ECE providers who are private for-profit businesses to be considered eligible employers for the purposes of PSLF. In response, the Department received many detailed comments about early childhood education as well as a range of comments in support of making other for-profit employers eligible to serve as qualifying employers for PSLF for individuals in certain occupations.

On November 1, 2022, the Secretary published final regulations  [ 3 ] in the Federal Register . Those final regulations did not include regulations regarding whether, and under what circumstances, private for-profit ECE providers employing borrowers working as early childhood educators, should be treated as qualifying employers for PSLF. [ 4 ]

Solicitation of Comments:

Early care educators are among the lowest-paid workers in the country; and the Administration has committed through Executive Order 14095 , to better supporting the care workforce. [ 5 ] The E.O. states that investments in the care workforce are foundational to helping to retain care workers and improving health and educational outcomes for those in their care. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information about ECE providers. This RFI and the comments received in response to this RFI will not be considered as part the Affordability and Student Loans proposed rule ( 87 FR 41878 ) and any subsequent related final rules. The comments received in response to this RFI will not be used as part of the rulemaking related to the treatment of for-profit employers, including ECE providers, and eligibility for PSLF. Instead, the feedback from this RFI will help inform the Department's understanding of different approaches that might be considered when implementing non-rulemaking solutions related to this issue.

Given the operational and implementation hurdles associated with PSLF, the Department is interested in understanding whether there are ways that eligibility could be streamlined if all ECEs became eligible. The Department is soliciting information and data from the public on how the Department could determine employer eligibility and related considerations if for-profit ECE employers were to be considered eligible employers if they provided one of the services listed in the statute. The Department encourages ( print page 51880) comments from researchers, academics, policy experts, and other individuals familiar with ECE employer data; organizations that work directly with ECE workers; State and Tribal government officials who oversee and administer ECE programs; ECE practitioners; and other members of the public. The Department will review all comments received, but does not intend to respond to comments.

The Department seeks feedback on the following questions:

(1) The Department has always relied upon employer identification numbers (EINs) to identify whether an employer is a non-profit under IRC 501(c)(3). This approach has allowed the Department to create a comprehensive list of eligible employers and use a consistent identifier system. However, some for-profit businesses may be sole proprietors or other providers that do not have an EIN. Are there other uniform sources that the Department might consider using for determinations of qualifying employers?

(2) If there are not other uniform sources, how should the Department address eligibility determinations of a for-profit ECE employer?

(3) If in consultation with the Department, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), issued a voluntary Public Records Act request from the States to create a nationwide registry of EINs of ECE providers, are State and Tribal agencies that oversee and administer ECE programs in a position to collect this information? Do commenters believe that all States would provide this information? Are there any additional considerations the Department should be aware of should HHS issue this request?

(4) What feedback can be provided concerning the time it would take a State or Tribe to undertake the collection of EINs for licensed and regulated providers, including the process, privacy, administrative, or other considerations that the Department should take into account?

(5) Should the Department consider a process that relies on unique identifiers associated with licensure as opposed to EINs to identify eligible employers?

This is a request for information only. This RFI is not a request for proposals and does not commit the Department to take any future administrative, contractual, regulatory, or other action. The Department will not pay for any information or costs that you may incur in responding to this RFI. Any documents and information submitted in response to this RFI become the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned.

Accessible Format: By request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT , individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible format.

Electronic Access to this Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register . You may access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov . At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register , in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.

You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at www.federalregister.gov . Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.

Nasser Paydar,

Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.

1.  These estimates are from the Administration for Children and Families' National Survey of Early Care and Education, both the 2019 Home-Based NSECE chartbook and the 2019 Center-Based NSECE chartbook. These data show that approximately three-fourths of home-based providers had at least some college, and 72 percent of for-profit ECE workers had some college or higher.

2.   https://www.federalregister.gov/​documents/​2022/​07/​13/​2022-14631/​student-assistance-general-provisions-federal-perkins-loan-program-federal-family-education-loan .

3.   https://www.federalregister.gov/​documents/​2022/​11/​01/​2022-23447/​institutional-eligibility-under-the-higher-education-act-of-1965-as-amended-student-assistance .

4.  Section 103(8) of the Higher Education Act contains a definition of ”early childhood education program” that includes public preschool, Head Start, and State licensed and regulated child care programs. It does not speak to the tax-status of providers. Unlike the public Kindergarten through 12th grade system, which provides free access to education for all age-eligible children and youth, there is no parallel system for our country's youngest children. As a result, ECE is delivered through a system of mixed delivery that includes public programs, non-profit settings, and for-profit settings. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/​ecd/​policy-guidance/​dear-colleague-letter-mixed-delivery . The vast majority of ECE settings are home-based, and do not carry non-profit tax designations. Compensation across settings is low generally, regardless of the tax-status of the ECE provider. https://www.bls.gov/​oes/​current/​oes_​va.htm .

5.   Federal Register : Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers.

[ FR Doc. 2024-13446 Filed 6-18-24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P

• Executive Orders

Reader Aids

Information.

• About This Site
• Legal Status
• Accessibility
• No Fear Act
• Continuity Information