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Promoting Coordination and Collaboration in Tribal Home Visiting Programs in the United States

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Abstract

Background

A joint statement from two federal agencies in the United States calls for coordination and collaboration between programs serving families of infants and toddlers who are at risk or developmentally delayed or disabled U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Policy guidance: Joint statement on collaboration and coordination of the MIECHV and IDEA Part C programs. (2017). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. ED/HHS Joint Guidance Document: Collaboration and Coordination of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C Programs. Young Native American children living on tribal lands in this country are currently eligible for two federal programs associated with these agencies which overlap in mission and implementation.

Purpose

This paper outlines potential strategies for creating a more seamless system of services for tribal families involving more centralized intake processes and procedures, cross training of staff to work across programs, and adopting more unifying approaches to program implementation.

Conclusion

A streamlined system of services will result in interventions that better support family and child outcomes while reducing duplication of services, consolidating the limited number of qualified professionals available to provide services, and increasing convenience and cultural attunement of services to Native American families currently participating in both programs.

Significance

This paper will describe the experience of the Navajo Nation and demonstrate how strategies recommended by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services might be applied to promote a more seamless system of services for Native American families while maintaining cultural sensitivity. We will examine how changes to three areas (intake and screening; professional development; collaborative service delivery) and the overall program model would improve home visiting using the experiences of the Navajo Nation as an example.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northern Arizona University, 208 E. Pine Knoll Dr., PO Box 15045, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA

    Sandra L. Stewart

  2. Department of Educational Specialties, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA

    Karen L. Applequist

  3. Department of Diné Education, Office of Special Education & Rehabilitation Services, Arizona, USA

    Paula Seanez

Authors
  1. Sandra L. Stewart
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  2. Karen L. Applequist
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  3. Paula Seanez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra L. Stewart.

Ethics declarations

This is not research and was not funded and did not require ethics approval. We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. Consent for participation, publication, data availability, and code availability are not relevant to this manuscript. This paper represents an ongoing and equal collaboration between the three authors.

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Stewart, S.L., Applequist, K.L. & Seanez, P. Promoting Coordination and Collaboration in Tribal Home Visiting Programs in the United States. Matern Child Health J 28, 19–23 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-023-03847-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-023-03847-6

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