Summary of Pennsylvania Home Visitation Stakeholders Meeting
Topic
Work Groups
February 20, 2013
Details

Carrie Collins provided a brief overview of the new leadership structure for the Home Visitation Stakeholders. A list of Work Group
chairs and and members, as well as the tasks to be addressed by each group, are attached. Work Group chairs will join state staff
members in serving as a Steering Committee for the work of the Pennsylvania Home Visitation Stakeholders. Together they will plan
the agendas for each meeting and monitor progress in achieving targeted goals.

Work Group 1 (Defining Terms/Promoting Home Visiting/Sustainability), Work Group 2 (Collaborating Among Home Visiting Partners)
and Work Group 3 (Competencies/Professional Development) met throughout the morning to clarify tasks, establish priorities, and
delineate next steps.
o Work Group 1, led by Cathy Palm, advanced on the priority for developing a definition for home visiting. The definition will
build from the Vision of the Pennsylvania Home Visiting Stakeholders (attached), describe the features of evidence-based
models, and describe evidence-informed/promising practices (including how such models could advance toward evidencebased status. The definition will also specify what home visiting is now. A draft will be developed to share with stakeholders at
the next meeting.
o
Work Group 2, led by Lee Sizemore, identified an extensive list of possible actions. One area of focus will be MOUs. By working
with OCDEL to gather samples of existing MOUs, the Work Group will be able to both identify examplars and identify
opportunities to incorporate an emphasis on home visiting where there currently is none.
o Work Group 3, led by Mimi Gavigan, sketched out an agenda for developing home visiting competencies and increasing
Updates

opportunities for professional development related to home visiting. One specific next step will be drafting and editing a set of
home visiting competencies that aligns with other state early childhood frameworks (e.g., Core Body of Knowledge) for
presentation to stakeholders at the June 4 meeting.
Mimi Gavigan and Michelle Hill shared several highlights from the recent Home Visiting Summit in Washington DC. Mimi provided
participants with copies of a recent publication from the PEW Charitable Trusts, Expanding Home Visiting Research: New Measures of
Success (http://www.pewstates.org/uploadedFiles/PCS_Assets/2013/HOME_Summit_Brief.pdf). To access information about
conference sessions (PowerPoints, handouts), go to http://www.homevisitingsummit.org/

Michelle Hill provided updates on four components of evaluation that are, or soon will be, underway. These include benchmark data
collection, state evaluation (Policy Lab), national evaluation (MIHOPE), and new component of national evaluation (MIHOPE-Strong
Start). PowerPoint slides describing each of the four are available to download at
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/sites/default/files/resources/presentations-andwebinars/MIECHV%20UPDATES%20data%20and%20evaluation.pptx

Cathy Palm shared updates from the PA Task Force on Child Protection.
o A webinar titled “Addressing Domestic Violence within Home Visitation Settings: Children Exposed to Domestic Violence & Its
Impact on Parenting” was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013. The presentation slides, recording, and materials are available
at www.futureswithoutviolence.org/section/our_work/health/_webinars/_2_19_13
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o
Diving Deeper
Next Steps
There has been a call by over 150 national organizations to form a National Commission on Children to assess the performance
of the United States in meeting the needs of children, and make recommendations to improve child well-being. Go to
http://www.firstfocus.net/news/press_release/150-advocates-call-for-a-national-commission-on-children for additional
information.

Michelle Hill provided a brief introduction to Pennsylvania’s Infant Early Learning GPS, a set of interactive resources that is designed to
help families to “set the right course for their children’s success in kindergarten and beyond.” The Infant Early Learning GPS website
(http://paprom.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=Infant_GPS_home) includes videos on how to use this resource to greatest
advantage.

Mimi Gavigan and Megan Pittsinger shared several highlights from the quarterly home visiting reports. These ranged from
presentations about MIECHV at local, regional and state conferences to a 30-minute video about the program in Spanish. They will be
working on compiling and sharing examples from the reports on a regular basis.

Shirley Keith-Knox described how families, early intervention providers, behavioral health providers, and community-based
organizations in Allegheny County are implementing depression screening within the early intervention system and strengthening
cross-system collaborations to improve care for families experiencing the related and often co-occurring challenges of parental
depression and early childhood developmental delays. This work is being supported by the RAND Toolkit for Implementing Parental
Depression Screening. Referral and Treatment Across Systems which is available to download at
http://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL102.html
Pat Yoder shared information about Title V, Healthy Start, and then offered a framework (Life Course Perspective) that can
complement home visiting efforts. Pat’s PowerPoint slides are posted at
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/sites/default/files/Life%20Course%20Perspective_Strengthening%20Families.pptx Additional information
about the Life Course Perspective Framework is available at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/lifecourseapproach.html


Karen Shanoski provided an overview of another framework that aligns effectively with home visiting work, Strengthening Families.
Karen’s slides are available at
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/sites/default/files/Life%20Course%20Perspective_Strengthening%20Families.pptx Additional information
about Strengthening Families approach and the protective factors framework are available at
http://www.cssp.org/reform/strengthening-families

After the presentations, small groups discussed ways in which these frameworks integrate with each other and could mesh
with/support home visiting work. A document summarizing ways to connect the Strengthening Families framework with home visiting
strategies is available to download at http://www.cssp.org/publications/strengthening-families/SF-and-home-visiting-one-pagerFINAL.pdf

Camille shared a new list of resources to support your work (attached and available to download at
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/sites/default/files/Home%20Visiting%20Resources%20February%202013.docx)

Mark your calendars. The next Home Visitation Stakeholder meetings in 2013 will be on June 4, 2013.
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Work Group
1. Defining
Terms/
Promoting
HV/
Sustainability
Supporting
Material:
Work Group 1
handouts
Tasks
Defining
3A Define evidence-based home visitation programs
 Develop a simple diagram of the home visiting system in PA
Promoting
1C Develop and implement a strategy to communicate the vision to other
stakeholders, legislators, and the general public
3B Educate Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Investment Commission and Early
Learning Council (Pennsylvania’s State Advisory Committee) on HV services and
provide updates during regularly scheduled meetings
 Identify other groups with which to communicate on a regular basis
3C Utilize PR venues to publicize HV statewide and create templates for
promotional materials that can be used locally
Sustaining
3D Determine private resources that will support and promote evidence-based
home visiting
2. Collaborating
Among Home
Visiting
Partners
Supporting
Material: Work
Group 2 handout
4A Develop system for national model TAs and OCDEL TAs to coordinate site
visits, reporting and professional development that supports implementation
with fidelity




Identify criteria for collaboration
Identify additional programs with which to actively and collaboratively
partner in the delivery of home visitation services
Identify strategies for engaging additional partners
Identify priorities in strategies for promoting collaboration
Work Group Members (as of 2/6/13)
Chair: Cathy Palm (cpalm@comcast.net)
Jane Campbell (jane@sumcd.org)
Leslie Coombe (lecoombe@pa.gov)
Laverne Davis-Gay (ldavis-gay@icfi.com)
Tara Dechert (tara.dechert@nursefamilypartnership.org)
Allyson Fulton (afulton@csc.csiu.org)
Cheryl Guthier (guthierc@enter.net)
Diane Halstead (diahal@berksiu.org)
Todd Lloyd (tlloyd@papartnerships.org)
Jim Monte (jamesmonte@epix.net)
Megan Pittsinger (megpit@berksiu.org)
Karen Seeber (karsee@berksiu.org)
Lee Sizemore (lee@mckeanfamilyresources.net)
Letty Thall (lthall@momobile.org)
Liz Werthan (liz@familyplanning.org)
Tim Whelan (twhelan@uwcr.org)
Suzanne Yunghans (syunghans@paaap.org)
Chair: Lee Sizemore (lee@mckeanfamilyresources.net)
Marnie Aylesworth (marayl@berksiu.org)
Jenn Brinley (jbrinley@pa.gov)
Leslie Coombe (lecoombe@pa.gov)
Brenda Gaffey (bgaffey@guidancecenter.net)
Karen Grimm-Thomas (karen@paheadstart.org)
Melanie Heller (mheller@keystonehumanservices.org)
Shirley Keith-Knox (sknox@dauphinc.org)
Colleen Masi (cmasi@eriesd.org)
Maryrose McCarthy (mbm45@pitt.edu)
Luann McMackin (tgcluann@verizon.net)
Karen Shanoski (kshanoski@csc.csiu.org)
Cindy Sunderland (cindy@sumcd.org)
Barbara Werner (barbnfp@comcast.net)
Rose Williams (rrwilliams@stepcorp.org)
Pat Yoder (pyoder@chesco.org)
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Work Group
3. Competencies
/Professional
Development
Supporting
Material: Work
Group 3 handouts
Tasks
4B Ensure training and technical assistance is available through state and
national sources for local infrastructure building, program development, and
strengthening and supporting children and families


Review input related to who, what, how
Identify strategies for inventory-ing PD efforts that are currently
underway
 Identify priorities for PD (who, what, how) at local, program, and state
levels
4C Develop statewide core competencies and professional development for
home visitors



4. Continuous
Quality
Improvement
Review any ground work that has been done in PA
Identify connections between existing PA early childhood competencies
(e.g,. Core Body of Knowledge, Early Learning Guidelines) and home
visiting competencies
Identify examples of core competencies or sequences of professional
development (national, other states)
2C Develop monitoring, accountability, and continuous quality improvement
systems for all HV programs
Work Group Members (as of 1/22/13)
Chair: Mimi Gavigan (mirgav@berksiu.org)
Marnie Aylesworth (marayl@berksiu.org)
Christine Behm (cbehm@pa.gov)
Laverne Davis-Gay (ldavis-gay@icfi.com)
Cathy Dysinger (cathy@sumcd.org)
Allyson Fulton (afulton@csc.csiu.org)
Brenda Gaffey (bgaffey@guidancecenter.net)
Melanie Heller (mheller@keystonehumanservices.org)
Lexi Livelsberger (alivelsberger@pcar.org)
Joan Loch and/or Marie James
(joan.loch@nursefamilypartnership.org)
(marie.james@nursefamilypartnership.org)
Luann McMackin (tgcluann@verizon.net)
Bobbi Patrizio (rpatrizio@achd.net)
Karen Shanoski (kshanoski@csc.csiu.org)
Jo Sterner (jsterner@pcadv.org)
Michele Walsh (micwal@berksiu.org)
Chair: Michelle Hill (mhill@pa.gov)
Allyson Fulton (afulton@csc.csiu.org)
Joan Loch and/or Marie James
(joan.loch@nursefamilypartnership.org)
(marie.james@nursefamilypartnership.org)
Colleen Masi (cmasi@eriesd.org)
Michele Walsh (micwal@berksiu.org)
Barbara Werner (barbnfp@comcast.net)
Pat Yoder (pyoder@chesco.org)
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Home Visiting Resources
February 2013
Twelve New Reports of Home Visiting Research Available
The Pew Home Visiting Campaign recently published 12 new reports of home visiting research. The reports
highlight those program elements that are essential to success, ways to improve existing models, and
factors to consider in tailoring home visiting to local contexts and particular target populations. These
studies underscore the need for continued evaluation and monitoring of home visiting services in order to
maximize effectiveness as programs expand to serve more families in a greater diversity of settings. The full
reports and executive summaries are available at http://www.pewstates.org/research/reports/solvingsocial-ills-through-early-childhood-home-visiting-85899444614
Study Says Early Home Visits Show School Benefits
Children whose families took part in a home-visiting program in their earliest years showed some positive
benefits once they enrolled in school, compared with their peers who did not receive home visits,
according to a recently-released study from Healthy Families New York, a home visitation program that
enrolls about 5,600 families each year. Read more at
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2013/02/study_says_early_home_visits_show_school_
benefits.html
Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions
This 2005 RAND study synthesized what is known from the scientifically sound research literature about the
short- and long-term benefits from early intervention programs. Key findings include the following:
 Early childhood intervention programs have been shown to yield benefits in academic achievement,
behavior, educational progression and attainment, delinquency and crime, and labor market success,
among other domains.
 Interventions with better-trained caregivers and smaller child-to-staff ratios appear to offer more
favorable results.
 Well-designed early childhood interventions have been found to generate a return to society ranging
from $1.80 to $17.07 for each dollar spent on the program.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9145/index1.html
Strengthening Home Visiting Through Research
The latest issue of Zero to Three, Strengthening Home Visiting Through Research,
presents a collection of articles that share new findings from the Pew Home
Visiting Campaign, a project of the Pew Center on the States. The five research
projects featured in this issue explore various aspects of evidence-based
programming that lead to success. With funding from the Doris Duke Charitable
Foundation and the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County (Florida),
the Pew Home Visiting Campaign commissioned a variety of research projects to
investigate critical questions regarding program design and implementation. The
five research projects featured in this issue explore various aspects of evidence-based programming that
lead to success. Two additional articles share efforts related to the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood
Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program. In addition to the feature articles, this issue offers two “Perspectives”
columns: one explores the relationship between home visiting staffing patterns, training, and outreach
activities and maternal program involvement; the other discusses the value of reflective practice for home
visitors and the families they serve. Individual copies may be ordered for $15 at
https://secure2.convio.net/zttcfn/site/Ecommerce/396237734?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=4761
&store_id=1461
Compiled by Camille Catlett (919) 966-6635 camille.catlett@unc.edu
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