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Providers and Community Partners

Home Visiting

Evidence-based home visiting is a free voluntary service for at-risk pregnant women and families with children up to age five (5) years. Programs have demonstrated improvements in a wide range of maternal and child health outcomes. The services provided support positive parenting, improve maternal and child health outcomes, help prevent child abuse and neglect, and aid young children with literacy, meeting developmental milestones, and school readiness.

A health worker arriving for a home visit.

Why home visiting?

Home visiting plays an instrumental role in assisting families to enhance their health and well-being by addressing social determinants of health. Through consistent and routine home visits, Family Support Specialists develop a strong and trusted rapport with families, which affords the Family Support Specialist the ability to meaningfully and positively impact families in a way that clinically based health care providers often cannot.

Family Support Specialists come to the home or another place the families chooses and will conduct activities during the visit that could include:

  • Assistance with accessing quality prenatal care
  • Conducting screenings such as intimate partner violence and depression screenings
  • Providing health education around topics that include breastfeeding, safe sleep, stress relief strategies, and more
  • Connecting the family to appropriate community resources
  • Providing assistance to families on supporting their child’s development
  • Help in creating a safe and healthy environment for a young child to thrive in
  • Improving self-sufficiency by helping secure employment or meeting education goals

Home visiting is not intended to replace office-based OB/GYN, family, or pediatric care, but rather to supplement and reinforce it.

New reporting protocols have recently been implemented to help Family Support Specialists keep primary care providers informed. First, an Enrollment Letter is sent out to providers if their patient enrolls in the program. Secondly, a Referral Letter is sent out to referring agencies/providers to provide an update on the status of the referral. Lastly, a Feedback Form is sent out quarterly to providers to give an update on assessments completed and education given.

Home Visiting can benefit families

While Home Visiting can benefit all families, it is especially valuable to those needing extra support and connections to a range of support services. Families with one or more of the following situations benefit most from home visiting programs:

Pregnant mom and family that benefit from Home Visiting.
  • Low income
  • First-time parent
  • Low educational attainment
  • Unemployed
  • Under 21 years of age
  • History of/current substance abuse
  • Families that include individuals who are serving in the US military

Keep in touch

Join our email list to stay up to date with the latest Home Visiting news and events.

Home Visiting Community Advisory Board (HV CAB)

Comprised of providers, policy makers, and other advocates including numerous stakeholders that oversees the coordination of home visiting services within the early childhood system to ensure quality service delivery. CAB promotes a cross-sector collaboration among relevant state and community-based organizations to reduce duplication and advance common goals.

HV CAB Meeting Minutes

Resources

2017-2021 Delaware Home Visiting Report

2017-2021 Delaware Home Visiting Report

A comprehensive document that provides a picture of home visiting within DE. Intended to serve as a critical and foundational resource to better understand the needs of at-risk families; accessing services in perinatal, maternal, and early childhood systems; revealing maternal and child population trends; determining areas of increasing or decreasing risk; and identifying potential resources to support families in need.

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

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

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

An app designed specifically for the Family Support Specialist. More details to come.

Examples of Delaware Thrives free resources for Home Visiting: posters, brochures, facts sheets

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Free Resources

Need posters, brochures, fact sheets, and more? We have materials to help you share information for every life stage.

© 2024. Delaware Division of Public Health.