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What do Home Visitors Do?

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How Home Visitors Describe What They Do

How Families Describe Supportive Home Visitation Practice

Provide encouragement

  • Encourage parents in their parenting roles
  • Recognize and build on families’ strengths
  • Recognize achievements of familie
  • Offer encouragement
  • Help us to care for ourselves and find other supports
  • Offer positive messages that we are good parents/on the right track

Build trusting relationships

  • Build positive relationships with family members
  • Use a positive, friendly, non-judgmental approach
  • Respect families where they are at
  • Be culturally sensitive/responsive
  • Honour confidentiality
  • Provide a listening ear
  • Offer neutrality-someone to discuss difficulties and challenges with
  • Build a trusting relationship-know we can count on the home visitor
  • Create a relaxed environment that is educational and enjoyable
  •  

Make connections

  • Connect families with appropriate programs/agencies
  • Create supportive groups
  • Make referrals to other supports and offer information on community resources

Provide information

  • Offer meaningful, culturally relevant information and resources
  • Offer learning through role modelling
  • Offer information/knowledge about child development to strengthen our parenting skills
  • Respond to our questions and concerns
  • Provide opportunities for hands-on real learning experiences
  • Be aware of potential problems and pointing these out
  • Offer specific skills e.g. games and rhymes, how to read to children
  • Teach us to problem solve

Advocate

  • Advocate for and with families
  • Help families overcome barriers
  • Connect with other service providers/organizations

Resource: Exploring Best Practices in Home Visitation, Partners for Best Practice in Home Visitation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada