Indicator: Universal Home Visiting Program Indicators
- Universal Home Visiting Program
Why This is Important
Home Visitation Programs have been shown to improve the overall health of children and their families, as well as prevent and reduce child abuse. (CDC, September, 2003)
Parenting is not an easy task, and the stressors that influence family functioning and a child’s growth and development are not constrained by socio-economic status or geography. Maine Home Visiting Programs, available in every county through 15 contracted agencies, universally offer services to all first-time families and pregnant and parenting adolescents. Guided by Standards of Practice grounded in local and national research and evaluation, professional home visitors build trusting relationships, support problem-solving skills, and help identify family’s natural support systems. Healthy childhood growth, founded in positive parent-child interaction, is supported through family visits that focus on the use of child development and attachment as a framework for promoting and sustaining healthy family functioning.
The local programs also provide information on other community resources that assist families. The connections to community resources most frequently reported by enrolled families as useful were child care, nutrition services through Women, Infants and Children (WIC), housing, and assistance with finding a counselor and primary care provider (PCP). Home visiting is the public health program that bridges health, early care and education, family supports and community resources—truly the model of cross-disciplinary prevention efforts.
Outcomes for children of families enrolled in Maine’s Home Visiting Program exceeded national or state benchmarks in six of six public child health indicators (first six shown below).
Where We Stand
In 2008, nearly 5,000 families were enrolled in Maine’s Home Visiting Program, more than half (2,884) who had home visits. During this year, 21,595 home visits were completed by programs—an increase that reflects a seasoned workforce getting more efficient and increasing the number of visits annually despite flat funding.
Current program services for families require professional training for providers including national Parents as Teachers curriculum and the evidence-based Brazelton Touchpoints approach for enhancing the competence of parents and building strong family-child relationships.
Data Source and Context
Data are provided by Maine DHHS Office of Child and Family Services fiscal year 2008 reporting from the Home Visiting Program Evaluator, Hornby Zeller Associates.