Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: This evidence review examines the effectiveness of evidence-based home visiting programs where trained professionals or paraprofessionals provide comprehensive in-home support and education to parents. The review focuses specifically on impacts on parenting outcomes among families with children under age 3, analyzing findings from five rigorous meta-analyses. These programs show small but positive effects on parenting skills and behaviors, though evidence is less consistent for other outcomes. As of 2021, evidence-based home visiting programs were implemented in all 50 states, five territories, and 122 tribal communities, serving over 277,000 families through more than 3 million home visits, though this represents only 0.16% of eligible families. States vary in their funding approaches, with some utilizing Medicaid, federal MIECHV grants, state funds, and other sources. The document explores program history, theoretical foundations, implementation models, funding mechanisms, and evidence of effectiveness, particularly highlighting impacts on nurturing parent-child relationships. It includes detailed state-by-state data on program reach and funding structures. The review concludes that while home visiting shows promise for improving parenting skills, more research is needed to identify the most effective program components and implementation strategies.

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Keywords: Evaluation, Home visiting, MCH programs, Parent support services, Parenting skills

Annotation: This report reviews research on parenting practices and identifies effective practices. The report also recommends ways agencies and others can support interventions that help more parents learn about effective parenting practices. A brief and webinar are also available.

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Keywords: Child care, Home visiting, Parenting support services, Prevention programs, Research

Annotation: This guide provides information to help pediatricians support adoptive and foster families who are coping with trauma. The guide helps pediatricians identify traumatized children, educate families, and empower families; provides coding tips that pediatricians may use for evaluations involving screening and anticipatory guidance related to trauma and other mental health or developmental concerns; provides a discharge form to give to families; and includes a guide for parents about parenting after trauma.

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Keywords: Adopted children, Adoptive parents, Child development, Children, Clinical coding, Coping, Families, Family support services, Foster children, Foster parents, Mental health, Parenting skills, Screening, Trauma

Annotation: This report provides findings from an 18-month evaluation to examine parent outcomes for families involved with the Community Partnership's Capable Kids and Families (CKF) program and for a comparison group of non CKF families who received services from other providers. CKF supports family functioning and fosters positive developmental outcomes for families raising children with disabilities or developmental delays from birth to age 6. The report discusses the following six broad domains: (1) understanding their child's strengths and needs, (2) helping their child learn and develop, (3) learning to advocate for their child, (4) support systems, (5) access to resources, and (6) positive interactions with their child. The report also provides information about the service experiences of CKF families and indicates other areas in which the CKF program could affect family well-being that could be explored in future research.

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Keywords: Advocacy, Children with developmental disabilities, Children with special health care needs, Chronic illnesses and disabilities, Family support services, Infants with developmental disabilities, Infants with special health care needs, Parent child relations, Parenting skills, Program evaluation, Programs, Research, Service delivery systems

Annotation: This fact sheet provides information about programs that work and do not work to improve outcomes for adolescent parents with low incomes and their children. The fact sheet reviews 20 parenting programs that are geared toward enhancing parents' development, educating them about effective parenting methods, or both. The fact sheet introduces the issue and reports findings for programs in six outcome areas: child outcomes: health; child outcomes: behaviors and development; parent outcomes: reproductive health; parent outcomes: mental health and behaviors; parent outcomes: education, employment, and income; and parenting outcomes. Promising approaches and future research needs are also discussed.

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Keywords: Adolescent attitudes, Adolescent behaviors, Adolescent development, Adolescent health, Adolescent parents, Child development Parent support programs, Child health, Education, Employment, Family income, High risk groups, Low income groups, Mental health, Parent support services, Parenting skills, Reproductive health, Research

Annotation: This archived webinar, broadcast July 13, 2011, discusses issues surrounding postpartum and perinatal depression (PPD) and the impact on the health and well-being of mothers and their infant's neurobiological development. Topics include how underreported or underdiagnosed PPD is; varying levels of severity including healthy rebound, "baby blues", diagnosed perinatal depression, postpartum bi-polar disorder, and the rare postpartum psychosis. Topics also include maternal stresses due to lacks of sleep/exhaustion, depression stigma, previous psychological or medical histories, post-traumatic stress from unexpected C-section or adverse pregnancy or birth outcomes, partner or violence abuse, and financial stresses. Social risk factors for depression such as multiple births or feeling of isolation are also discussed. Resources are discussed including model state programs, online resources, proposed legislation, and the importance of establishing local postpartum depression networks and support services.

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• Slides (.pdf)

Keywords: Bonding, Early childhood development, Hotlines, Infant health, Maternal mental health, Mother child relations, Parent support services, Parenting, Perinatal care, Postnatal care, Postpartum depression, Resources for professionals

Annotation: This PowerPoint-based training curriculum, which is designed to be taught by a mental health professional along with foster parents as co-facilitators, includes nine case studies of representative foster children ages 8 months to 15 years, as well as of secondary traumatic stress in parents. The goal of the curriculum is to help parents understand the link between trauma and their children's often baffling behavior, feelings, and attitudes and to provide parents with tools to help children move forward, to recognize and reduce the impact of their children's traumas on themselves, and to seek useful support from others. It includes a facilitator's guide, a participant's guide, and a slide kit.

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Keywords: Adolescent attitudes, Adolescent behavior, Case studies, Child abuse, Child attitudes, Child behavior, Child neglect, Curricula, Families, Family support, Foster children, Foster parents, Infant behavior, Mental health, Parent support services, Parenting skills, Training, Trauma

Annotation: This paper presents findings from a survey of parents of children from birth through age 3 that was designed to explore the issues and challenges that parents of young children confront; gaps in knowledge about early childhood development; sources of information and support to which parents turn; factors that influence parents' approaches to parenting; parents' perceptions of experiences that influence social, emotional, and cognitive child development; and parents' expectations for reaching developmental milestones. Three vignettes depicting parents' interpretations of child behavior and how they would react are also included.

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Keywords: Child behavior, Community programs, Early childhood development, Infant development, Infants, Parent support programs, Parent support services, Parenting skills, Parents, Young children

Annotation: This research brief brings together findings from a variety of research resources to identify 10 actionable, feasible goals involving non-school factors that affect educational outcomes and can be addressed through out-of-school-time programs. The goals include (1) reduce unintended pregnancies, (2) improve prenatal and postnatal maternal health, (3) improve parenting practices among parents of infants and young children, (4) improve young children's nutrition and encourage mothers to breastfeed, (5) enhance the quality and availability of educational child care, preschool, pre-kindergarten, and full-day kindergarten, (6) connect children and adolescents with long-term mentors, (7) improve parenting practices among parents of school-age children and adolescents, (8) provide family and couples counseling to improve family functioning, (9) provide high-quality educational after-school and summer programs, and (10) develop positive social skills and reduce delinquency among adolescents. The brief describes research findings related to each goal and types of programs that effectively address each goal.

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Keywords: Adolescent pregnancy, Adolescents, Breastfeeding promotion, Child care, Children, Early childhood education, Educational attainment, Families, Family support services, Infants, Nutrition, Parenting skills, Prenatal care, Prevention, Programs, Unwanted pregnancy, Women's health, Young children

Annotation: This issue brief presents information that states can use as they address challenges and opportunities in their efforts to strengthen supports for young children's health and development across the different systems that affect family and child well-being. The brief discusses highlights from research that links parenting to child outcomes, presents questions to guide decisions about programs, describes efforts by four states to establish specific goals related to parenting supports and to make progress toward achieving these goals, and offers recommendations for state-level work in this area that reflect current research and states' experience.

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Keywords: Child health, Early childhood development, Families, Family support services, Parenting skills, Parents, Research, Service delivery systems, State programs, Young children

Annotation: This policy briefing paper addresses issues related to promoting children's social and emotional development in Texas. The paper explains why promoting children's social and emotional development is important and discusses current policy in Texas, what research says about best practices for enhancing social and emotional development, and better investment choices for Texas.

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Keywords: Behavior problems, Child development, Early childhood development, Emotional development, Family support services, Financing, Intervention, Parenting skills, Prevention, Public policy, Research, School readiness, Screening, Social skills, State programs, Texas

Annotation: This report and Webinar focus on findings from a national survey of parents of infants and children from birth through age 3. The report explored issues and challenges that parents confront, gaps in knowledge about early development, sources of information and support to which parents turn, factors that influence their approach to parenting, and parents' perceptions. The report also includes three vignettes depicting parents' interpretations of a child's behavior and how they would react. The Webinar shares key survery findings and discusses implications of these findings.

• Full Report
• Webinar Homepage

Keywords: Child behavior, Early childhood development, Family support, Infant development, Multimedia, National surveys, Parent child relations, Parent support services, Parenting skills

Annotation: This information packet was written to support child maltreatment prevention efforts by describing strategies and activities that promote protective factors. It is written for service providers, to encourage and support them as they engage and partner with parents to protect, nurture, and promote the healthy development of children. The packet includes suggestions for enhancing each of the five protective factors in families; tip sheets in English and Spanish for providers to use when working with parents and caregivers on specific parenting challenges; strategies for sharing the message about child abuse prevention in communities; and information about child abuse and neglect.

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Keywords: Child abuse, Child neglect, Community based services, Family support programs, Parent support services, Parenting, Prevention, Program development, Violence prevention

Annotation: This brief outlines strategies communities can use to strengthen parents and their connections to resources and promote parenting success to improve investments in children, youth, and families. Contents include the role of parental influence, an ecological model of parenting, and common factors of families at risk. A framework, examples, and recommendations for communities and funders are also included. Organizational resources, alternate models, key resources, and the developmental framework are also included.

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Keywords: Community based services, Families, Family centered services, Parent education programs, Parent support services, Parenting

Annotation: This guidebook aims to provide practitioners and administrators with guidance in assessing, supporting, and strengthening parenting skills and parent-child relationships among families affected by substance abuse or HIV and AIDS. Specifically, the guidebook identifies some of the parenting-related challenges facing this population. It provides tips on building relationships with clients, assessing parenting skills and parent-child relationships, and implementing parenting intervention and safety planning strategies. The guidebook also addresses staffing for home-based, supportive interventions and strategies for working with child protective services. Throughout the document, parent quotations and program examples illustrate many key points. The document concludes with an annotated list of assessment tools and parenting curricula.

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Keywords: AIDS, Assessment, Families, Family support, HIV infection, Intervention, Parent child relations, Parent support services, Parenting, Parenting skills, Parents, Safety, Substance abuse

Annotation: This Bright Futures tool for health professionals provides information about creating a referral network for developmental, behavioral, and family support services. Information is presented about locating community-based services to support children and families. The tool includes a referral and contact list, divided into the following categories: (1) education and special needs, (2) health and wellness, (3) mental health and well-being, (4) family support and parenting, (5) child care and early childhood education, and (6) other. Each catetory is divided into subcategories, with space for health professionals to fill in contact information. The tool is available in English and Spanish.

• English Version
• Spanish Version

Keywords: Child care, Child development, Child health, Children, Children with special health care needs, Collaboration, Community-based services, Early childhood education, Education, Families, Family support services, Health supervision, Mental health, Parenting, Referrals, Spanish language materials

Annotation: This report contains the results of a performance audit of the Nurse Home Visitor Program within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The program offers home visits by specially trained nurses to first-time, low-income mothers during pregnancy and through the child's second birthday. The report focuses on program costs and eligibility, including the following specific areas: service costs, caseload, client attribution, administrative costs, cost information, Medicaid reimbursement, reimbursement rates, oversight of Medicaid billing process, eligibility determination/income verification, and local site monitoring.

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Keywords: Child health, Colorado, Costs, Eligibility, Evaluation, Family support programs, Home visiting, Infant health, Low income groups, Mothers, Parent support services, Parenting skills, Pregnancy, Reimbursement, State programs, Young children

Annotation: This report describes a study to evaluate an intervention for young, low-income mothers and their infants using paraprofessional "doulas" from the local community to provide guidance and support during the prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum periods in order to promote good obstetrical outcomes, breastfeeding, responsive parenting, parental efficacy, and child health and development. The project period covered September 2000 through August 2005. Report sections include a description of the research and background information on the Chicago Doula Project as well as the purpose, scope, and methods of the investigation and the nature of the findings; a review of the literature; a description of the study design and methods; a presentation of the findings including labor, delivery, and birth outcomes, maternal well-being, parenting stress and efficacy, parenting attitudes and behavior, feeding practices, health care utilization, child development, and additional topics. Also included is a discussion of the findings on outcomes relating to birth, breastfeeding, mental health, and parenting attitudes and behavior; and implications for policy and practice. A list of products is also provided. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

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Keywords: Breastfeeding, Early intervention services, Final reports, Illinois, Local initiatives, Low income groups, MCH research, Parenting skills, Postpartum care, Pregnant women, Prenatal care, Resource mothers, Social support, Young women

Annotation: This curriculum guide is for home visitors to parents of infants newborn to six months of age. The first part of the guide gives an overview of the curriculum and basic information about the role of the home visitor. The second part contains weekly and monthly plans providing detailed purposes for each visit, discussion and prompts to use for introducing topics, instructions regarding what to observe, actions to take, and additional resources. The third part of the guide contains handouts for the family. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Curricula, Health supervision, Home visiting, Infant development, Infants, Parent support services, Parenting skills, Preservice training, Spanish language materials

Annotation: This book looks at families with infants and toddlers: how they prepared for parenthood, how they spend their time together, the nature and patterns of their routines and practices, their relationships with extended family members and other supports, and the stresses they experience. The book is organized into four parts. Part one describes the contemporary conditions of families in the United States with children from birth to age three. Part two examines contemporary child rearing practices. Part three focuses on the healthcare system and parents' relationships with health professionals. Part four looks toward the policy implications of the survey findings. Tables and graphs present statistical data throughout the book and an index is provided.

Keywords: Child rearing, Family relations, Family support services, Health care delivery, Parenting, Parenting skills, Surveys, Young children