Early childhood home visiting programs typically target pregnant women and mothers of young children, but increasing attention is being given to the practice of engaging fathers as well. This study aimed to understand how home visiting programs engage fathers, what fathers’ experiences are in those programs, and the perceived benefits of fathers’ participation. Qualitative interviews were conducted with home visiting program administrators, staff members, and participating fathers and mothers in five programs implementing strategies to engage fathers in home visiting services. The findings…
This brief highlights themes and action steps drawn from a roundtable on Two-Generational Strategies to Improve Immigrant Family and Child Outcomes, hosted by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, on April 23-24, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The roundtable and this brief come at a critical time, when immigrants and their children are such a significant part of changing American demographics that they are crucial to the nation’s future success: one-quarter of the nation’s young children are children of immigrants. At the same time, important…
This paper discusses the need for targeted public investment in children’s mental and behavioral health and opportunities presented by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) for promoting children’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral health. The following points are made: emphases within the ACA for prevention and coordination of care enable more family focus, or the two-generation framework, however, important gaps remain that threaten the reach of evidence-based, family-focused health care and ultimately, healthy development; there are untapped opportunities to deliver…
This fact sheet highlights effective strategies HMRF programs can implement to 1) retain staff and 2) be able to maintain services during times of staff transition. Examples and tips for implementing these strategies are included.
This Transition Tool is a follow up to the fact sheet, Achieving Program Stability through a Focus on Staffing, and provide practical strategies and tools for grantees to use such as a checklists, conversation guides, etc in effort to effectively manage and maintain staff commitment to the program as the grant program is ending.
This report provides a framework for developing a comprehensive and integrated trauma-informed system of care for children and is intended to help child serving systems advance trauma-informed care in order to provide more effective and cost-efficient services that results in better outcomes for all children. The framework builds upon the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) definition of a trauma-informed approach to define four key elements of a trauma-informed system. These components, Workforce Development, Trauma Screening, Practice Changes and Use of…
In this report, the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) examines how to increase the public health approachto child development by looking at national, State and local strategies, policies and programs that have a high impact for improving health and well-being across a range of sectors, and how to better bring those sectors together to develop partnerships that have a better chance of achieving common goals. It begins by reviewing the impact of negative experiences on the physical health and brain development of a child, and the need to reduce risks and build protective factors that help…
Through this issue brief, young people who are in, or have been in, foster care offer their insights and aspirations to help guide the actions of child welfare systems as they seek to provide more normal experiences for these youth. The brief begins by explaining new provisions in the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act that promote normalcy, including the requirement for States to implement a “reasonable and prudent parent” standard that allows caregivers to make more daily decisions for young people in their care; a mandate that child welfare systems engage all young…
This fact sheet explains that healthy brain development depends on attentive, nurturing caregiving in infancy and early childhood and emphasizes the need to provide early and intensive support to families with multiple risk factors to help parents develop critical nurturing skills during the prenatal, infancy, and toddler periods. The benefits of family home visiting in Rhode Island are discussed, and information is provided on the enrollment of 869 Rhode Island families into federally funded Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs. Charts show the number of…
