During this unprecedented COVID-19 public health crisis, leaders in the national home visiting field have formed a rapid response collaborative to create and support the dissemination of free resources on virtual family interactions for home visitors.
Dubbed as the Rapid Response Virtual Home Visiting (RR-VHV) collaborative, the effort is being led by Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC), together with the Institute for the Advancement Family Support Professionals (IAFSP), and the National Alliance of Home Visiting Models. A $1.13 million grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation is making the collaborative possible.
Spurred by social distancing measures and the increased isolation of families during the health crisis, the collaboration provides rapid, best practice principles and strategies to support home visiting professionals in maintaining connections with families.
“During this pandemic, live, interactive services and even telephone calls will enable clinicians and home visiting professionals to provide critical parenting, child development, and family-well-being support,” said Angela Rau, a PATNC virtual home visiting specialist.
Virtual group connection in progress.