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