Reviewing Home Visiting: A Look at Models for At-Risk Pregnant Women, Mothers, and Children across the Country and in Tribal Communities

By T’Pring Westbrook, Social Science Research Analyst, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Our recent review of home visiting program models for pregnant women and families with children from birth to age five found that three new models — Durham Connects/Family Connects, Minding the Baby and Family Spirit — met HHS criteria for evidence of effectiveness. The Family Spirit model also met the criteria as an evidence-based model for tribal communities. These findings increase the number of models that meet HHS criteria for evidence of effectiveness to 17.

Durham Connects/Family Connects is a universal nurse home visiting program available to all families residing within a defined service area who have newborns aged two to 12 weeks. The program aims to support families’ efforts to enhance their children’s health and well-being, and reduce rates of child abuse and neglect.

The Minding the Baby program model targets first time, low-income pregnant mothers and provides home visits until the child is age two. The program aims to promote secure attachment; parental reflection; health; mental health; and self-efficacy in babies, mothers, and their families.

Designed for Native American mothers and their children, the Family Spirit program model provides visits to mothers in late pregnancy and continues until the child is age three. The model incorporates traditional tribal teachings and aims to promote mothers’ effective parenting, coping, and problem-solving skills. Our recent brief on evidence-based models for tribal communities contains this finding as well as lessons on program development and implementation of these services for tribes, tribal organizations, and urban AIAN organizations.

You can explore the systematic review of home visiting models by visiting the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) project’s website.