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Assessing the Deployment of Home Visiting: Learning from a State-Wide Survey of Home Visiting Programs

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Abstract

Objectives Large-scale planning for health and human services programming is required to inform effective public policy as well as deliver services to meet community needs. The present study demonstrates the value of collecting data directly from deliverers of home visiting programs across a state. This study was conducted in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires states to conduct a needs assessment of home visiting programs for pregnant women and young children to receive federal funding. In this paper, we provide a descriptive analysis of a needs assessment of home visiting programs in Ohio. Methods All programs in the state that met the federal definition of home visiting were included in this study. Program staff completed a web-based survey with open- and close-ended questions covering program management, content, goals, and characteristics of the families served. Results Consistent with the research literature, program representatives reported great diversity with regard to program management, reach, eligibility, goals, content, and services delivered, yet consistently conveyed great need for home visiting services across the state. Conclusions Results demonstrate quantitative and qualitative assessments of need have direct implications for public policy. Given the lack of consistency highlighted in Ohio, other states are encouraged to conduct a similar needs assessment to facilitate cross-program and cross-state comparisons. Data could be used to outline a capacity-building and technical assistance agenda to ensure states can effectively meet the need for home visiting in their state.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by the Ohio Department of Health through a contract with the Center for Child Health and Policy at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. The authors wish to acknowledge the leadership and contributions of their colleague Leona Cuttler, M.D. who passed away in 2013. Dr. Cuttler, a professor of pediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, led the broader project of which this study was a part.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Robert L. Fischer, Elizabeth R. Anthony & Nina Lalich

  2. Center for Child Health and Policy, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Ann Nevar

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Paul Bakaki & Siran Koroukian

Authors
  1. Robert L. Fischer
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  2. Elizabeth R. Anthony
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  3. Nina Lalich
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  4. Ann Nevar
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  5. Paul Bakaki
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  6. Siran Koroukian
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Correspondence to Elizabeth R. Anthony.

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Fischer, R.L., Anthony, E.R., Lalich, N. et al. Assessing the Deployment of Home Visiting: Learning from a State-Wide Survey of Home Visiting Programs. Matern Child Health J 20, 674–683 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1867-y

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