Learning from each other: Victories and Challenges

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Families have been so receptive to a change in service and so grateful for the relationships that they have formed with their Family Support Specialists. Families who are having babies are more uncertain than ever and eager to sign up for a program that can be a supportive, educating, and listening ear. I have been beyond impressed with the team of Family Support specialists that I supervise. Their passion, problem solving, and eagerness to support and serve is deeply moving to me. It is so exhausting and difficult to suspend your own worries and stresses and hold those of others.

Stories from the field

Staff are adjusting quickly to virtual visits…

…and parents are thankful that they are still able to have their visits during this time. They are feeling the additional stress and appreciate the continued support and information from their home visitor.

We have mailed families curriculum and other information…

…and we are conducting virtual visits with them at this time.  Prior to closing our office we made a mad dash delivering diapers and food to many of our families.

One mom needed help to access Medicaid.

She has internet so we worked out a plan so I could help her by using video chat. This was a great comfort to her.

We are working hard from our homes…

…to connect with our families via telehealth and calls. We are assessing the immediate needs and helping the families work through these issues. We actually are able to deliver some necessary items with a no contact tactic. Items such as diapers, formulas, cleaning supplies and even food is becoming available, but all of our families don’t have transportation.

I had one Mom express after our virtual visit…

“thank you, I feel so much better after talking and seeing you via FaceTime”.

Healthy Families still continuing to support our families.

We rise above all else and keep the prevention of child abuse going when it can be more prevalent now than any time. I’m so thankful to be able to keep the consistency going with our families. This has proven that they still need this and want this even during a crisis.

When we first switched over to virtual visits I thought, “Why would our visits, especially over a video call, be a priority for families when they have so much else going on?” How wrong I was. Families are needing us more than ever. Parenting is hard, parenting during a pandemic is a new territory of hard.

Read more about site victories, challenges, and problem solving.

Read site victories

I was able to figure out how to help a client complete his re-certification for SNAP form. Primary language is Karen so he doesn’t understand the form. He sent me pics of the forms and I edited it by adding the information needed and sent it back to him via text.
I had a new client who engaged in their first virtual visit and it lasted a full hour!
Something awesome to me was that I was successfully able to do a four way call (myself included). I had to help a family pay their medical bills, and for some reason Medicaid kept rejecting the claim, so my family, Medicaid, Bryan and myself were all on the line trying to figure it out (using an interpreter). It took a while, but it felt great afterwards.
As I talked to my families all of them expressed feelings of calmness and often said things like they are trying to focus on what they do have. I also heard many thank you’s this past week which made me realize how important it is to be empathetic as well as how a simple check-in can mean more than I thought it did. I also have learned to ask families what they can do to stay present and what they are already doing in terms of self-care. Serving families virtually this past week has taught me the importance of staying connected to the people you care about regularly but especially during challenging times.
One mom was terrified of COVID-19. We talked a few days in a row. One of those calls was solely because she could not find a thermometer anywhere where she lived. No one in her house was ill, it was the sheer terror of not having it if she needed it. I felt helpless, I travel over an hour to see this family but of course we aren’t doing in-home visits at this point. I remembered I had some grooming kits stashed away and looked to see if one might have a thermometer and it did. I called mom and I told her I would be sending her a thermometer. The pure gratitude in mom’s voice was enough to let me know she was ok. Mom was happy and able to calm down a little though. That was success for that moment in uncertain times.
Families are engaged!! 93% Home Visit Completion Rate!

Read site challenges

Engagement – gaining interest in phone visits, engaging families with high ACES, no-shows after scheduling
Technology – apps lagging, connectivity/hotspot, clients not having access to text/calls/video
Completing applications and conducting screens (additional challenges with three way calls/interpreters)
PCI observations when the kids are moving around so much!
Helping people without internet and keeping minutes on phones in order to access services. The things many of us take for granted are major challenges and fears for my families that they won’t be able to connect or get help when needed.
Since the quarantine order was put into place has been the fear for some of my higher risk families, with all the added stress and anxiety of Covid-19 and limited resources that these families may be at an even higher risk for child abuse or neglect, I know that phone calls aren’t as good as eyes in the home
Working from home is NOT easy and I have not been able to be as productive with caring for my own children.
I’m unable to read them as easily through video chat.
It’s a stressful time for everyone so not being able to see my clients in person adds to my worry

Read more about how sites are problem solving these challenges

Found some great solutions for older children!

Figuring out PCI w/ families

Encourage clients to send texts/videos of kids if they’d like to share. (Give examples of how this has already been happening.).
Try to prepare for the visit with the parent and schedule for a time that avoids nap time, stress your desire/interest/excitement in seeing TC during the visit. (Unfortunately, as we know, weighing/modeling/etc. is on hold for now.)
Regarding CHEERS, refer back to the tips and guidance handouts that I sent out a few weeks ago from the National Office.
- CHEERS will likely be difficult during virtual visits; during this time if you are unable to capture every domain, document at least 2 domains and frequency is not required.
- Your examples might not be from visual observation but rather conversation. The tip sheet gives a lot of good questions that prompt conversation within each domain, as well as how to utilize each reflective strategy.
- Remember, your supervisor is here to support you and discuss CHEERS during each supervision session or via email/text!

Engaging new families

Involve parents in planning their visit before-hand. Text them the curriculum you are going to review, or ask them prior to the visit what things they’d like to talk about.
If they do not want video visits or phone calls right now, keep reaching out. It might change and it might not, but it’s important to remain connected and assure them you are available. Regular check-ins via text, email or mail can do this!

Technology Trouble

HFA sites have been using a variety of tech solutions to connect with families. Here are some of the most common ones we are seeing.

Facetime, Zoom, Facebook, Doxy.me, Texting, Phone Calls, Microsoft Teams, Google Duo

Taking care of yourself

Is SO important! See tips on our Staying Connected page.

Share your victories, challenges, and stories

(Scroll up to see what other sites have shared)

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