Additional Resources from the Home Visiting Field
The 4th Trimester Project & COVID-19 info for new moms
Going from pregnancy, labor and birth or otherwise bringing a baby home is a big transition. It is a journey with changing hormones, body image, and roles, while learning to feed and care for a newborn and navigate relationships and expectations with partners, family, friends, co-workers, and other children. Much attention is focused on babies while too often, women are left to navigate their health and care without enough information or support. Women often receive health information at birthing facility discharge when they are tired, overwhelmed, and may not even know what questions to ask. These gaps in care are missed opportunities, not only for health but also to affirm the importance of women.
The 4th Trimester Project is working provide the latest medical evidence and offer real, honest stories to inform postpartum planning.
Dibble Institute: Mind Matters
A FREE twelve-week series (recordings available) focused on developing skills and coping mechanisms to overcome anxiety and build resilience. Many attended the very popular session at our Milwaukee conference on Mind Matters, and what home visitors can do in their work to support families experiencing trauma and stress.
July 8th: Free webinar on from Mind Matters on Self Soothing. Learn more here.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Children’s Book
NCTSN has developed a children’s book to help young children and families talk about their experiences and feelings related to COVID-19 and the need to stay inside. In the story, the virus has spread to Littletown causing changes in everyone’s lives. The story opens doors to conversations about family and community strengths, challenges and feelings related to COVID-19, ways grown-ups help children keep safe, and our gratitude for frontline workers. In addition to the story, which also serves as a coloring book, there is a booklet of common questions children may ask, a parent guide, and a feeling poster. The book and booklet can either be read to children, or, parents may select specific pages for their children to color and talk about. These all can all be freely downloaded from http://piploproductions.com/trinka-and-sam-virus/. They are also available at https://nctsn.org.
Fathering in Challenging Times
Download this resource from our friends at the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health! Looking for ways to take care of your kids during this challenging time without pulling your hair out? Here are some tips we hope you find helpful.
A Hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
HV CoIIN: Maternal Depression and IPV
HV-CoIIN (Home Visiting Collaborative- Improvement and Innovation Network), cross-model work in the areas of maternal depression and intimate partner violence, with numerous resources related to these topics in light of COVID-19. Download their latest materials.
Futures Without Violence also has some useful resources for sites in working with families:
Their downloads in English and Spanish
Futures Without Violence also recommends the following materials:
- Staying Safe During COVID-19 from the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
- Mantenerse segurx durante COVID-19 – La Línea Nacional Contra la Violencia Doméstica
- myPlan App – a tool to help with safety decisions if you, or someone you care about, is experiencing abuse in their intimate relationship
- Digital Safety during public health crisis (how to support survivors via digital platforms)
Sheltering in Place recommendations or restrictions may create additional difficulties and risks for survivors. If authorities call for “shelter in place” in your area, are there other friends or family you could stay with during this time? Consider reaching out to these people to make a plan:
- Consider reaching out to a trusted friend, co-worker, or family member who could check in with you about your safety and support needs. If you need help identifying support people in your life, take a look at the pod mapping worksheet from the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective.
- Are you connected with close friends or family members of the person who is hurting you? Are they aware of what is happening or are they a safe person to reach out to? Consider connecting with them now in case you need someone to help you in an emergency.
These resources on IPV were also shared with us from our HFA/PCAA friends in New Jersey.
HRSA: Guidance on resuming in-home visits
See HRSA’s guidance as of 4/29/20 here.
Great Kids Inc: A note to the HFA network from GKI
Great Kids wants to thank you for the care and compassion you are showing families during these challenging times. You are stretching yourselves to support children and their caregivers in ways we couldn’t have imagined a couple of months ago. Whether it be via phone, video, text, or email, you are providing reassurance and guidance to families. To support your work, Great Kids invites all programs to join our email list to receive weekly communications that will assist in your virtual home visiting efforts. Simply send your request to techsupport@greatkidsinc.net. In the interim, please check out these resources: 1) https://conta.cc/2WG0ZdR , 2) https://conta.cc/2QLpX7E, 3) https://conta.cc/39pV52Z, 4) https://conta.cc/2WWuGY5
The National Alliance of Home Visiting Models and the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals
…have partnered with others to bring weekly COVID-19 webinars and resources on topics of interest to all home visiting models. Webinar recordings and registration for upcoming webinars can be accessed at these links. Past topic include engaging families virtually, screening and consent, use of the ASQ, and future topics include virtual reflective supervision.
Want to contact us?
Interested in learning more about our home visiting programs or helping transform childhoods and communities? Get in touch—we’ll respond as quickly as we can.