{"id":49355,"date":"2023-02-10T00:07:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T00:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/?p=49355"},"modified":"2023-02-10T00:07:04","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T00:07:04","slug":"retaining-home-visitors-is-one-way-to-ensure-family-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ftf-stg.magnetry.com\/es\/2023\/02\/retaining-home-visitors-is-one-way-to-ensure-family-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Retaining home visitors is one way to ensure family success"},"content":{"rendered":"

The effectiveness of home visitation depends on families feeling comfortable enough to invite trained home visitors into their homes at least once a month. So it\u2019s no surprise that the key to success in the program is uniquely tied to the connection that the home visitor builds with families.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that magic happens within the relationship that home visitors develop with families,\u201d said Christine Waldbeiser, First Things First program specialist for family support and literacy. \u201cWhen you hear the success stories, you hear that families cherish the relationship they have with their home visitor. They talk about them by name. They share successes and challenges. They say things like \u2018My home visitor helped me be an advocate for my child.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the largest funder of home visitation programs in Arizona, First Things First (FTF) is working with other state funders to find ways to support the home visiting workforce. When there is high staff turnover, data shows that it has an impact on the family\u2019s willingness to stay in the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a home visitor leaves the job, the families they work with often decline a worker change, refuse further service or don\u2019t respond to outreach efforts, according to the latest FTF data analysis of funded home visitation programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at providing realistic expectations of what makes a home visitor successful, which includes manageable caseloads, supportive supervisors and access to professional development,\u201d Waldbeiser said. \u201cThis also includes diving into salaries and what makes a livable wage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One challenge is helping home visitors and communities understand what their role is and what it isn\u2019t. Here\u2019s how home visitation works: the parent or primary caregiver receives regular in-home visits at no cost from a trained professional who provides parenting information, models ways to support healthy development and shares connections to other community resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW HOME VISITING WORKS<\/p>\n

First Things First supports free home visiting programs across Arizona that provide personalized, in-home support for parents of young children and expecting families.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/p>\n

These one-on-one visits with trained home visitors have been shown to support and empower families and children experiencing challenges, as well as to improve bonding and the relationship between parents and children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Home visitation can be described as an intensive service, because home visitors meet with families frequently and collect a lot of information to learn about the family\u2019s needs and to set family goals. The home visitors also have to feel comfortable and confident with the screenings and assessments that they\u2019re doing, and why they are doing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, a home visitor might be the first to talk to a family about healthy relationships and intimate partner violence, which can have adverse effects on children and families.\u00a0 These are hard conversations, and it\u2019s important that skills, roles and expectations are established.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the home visitor\u2019s role to be the solver of all challenges families face,\u201d Waldbeiser said. \u201cBut they should feel confident in their role as a professional, advocate and coach that helps the family feel supported and have access to the resources they need. They are not only experts of their program, but also know where to go outside their program to refer families. They really are opening the door to challenging conversations and explaining to families why they are asking these questions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lisa Colling, FTF\u2019s senior director of evaluation, points to the work done by one of FTF\u2019s funded grant partners after a deep look at the data that showed that staff turnover was a challenge throughout most FTF-funded home visitation programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona (UWTSA) and its Family Support Alliance (FSA) collaboration provides home visitation services throughout Pima County by partnering with school districts and other non-profit organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

UWTSA conducted an extensive staff survey and discovered that most home visitors who considered leaving their jobs did so because they felt their pay wasn\u2019t commensurate with the amount of hours the work requires and the intensity of services and emotional burden that come with serving vulnerable families during the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, they found that home visitors were feeling increasingly disconnected from their colleagues and team members. The survey also highlighted the value and impact that skilled and supportive supervisors have on their teams. This was one of the main retention factors the FSA collaboration brought to the forefront.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey did a survey of their home visitors and took the results back to their supervisor meetings,\u201d Colling said. \u201cThey found that yes, salary is important, but equally important was good supervision – providing an outlet for the home visitors to talk about what they were encountering. It\u2019s a stressful job, how and where can stronger supports be put into place?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cholpon Rosengren, UWTSA senior director of family support, said the survey information was shared over the course of multiple meetings with supervisors from all the partner agencies who made changes in their respective programs based on the data gathered through the surveys.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Some examples of these changes include:<\/span><\/p>\n