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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Penny A. Hatcher, MSN, DrPH, Betty E. Kaplan, MPH, RN, Junie Svenson, BA, MPH, and Maureen Fuchs, PHN. Division of Family Health, MCH Section, Minnesota Department of Health, P.O. Box 64882, St. Paul, MN 55164-0882, (651) 281-9937, penny.hatcher@health.state.mn.us
The Minnesota Department of Health, since 1992, has funded both universal and selective (targeted) home visiting programs. The Home Visiting Program to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect (PCAN) data indicate that intensive nurse home visitation enhances parents' knowledge of child development and helps families create healthy and safe home environments for their children. Minnesota Healthy Beginnings, a universally offered home visiting program, found that offering home visits to ALL families promotes program acceptance and participation by families from diverse community groups. Families not identified by the traditional screening and referral methods are being reached with the universal service delivery approach. In 2001, TANF dollars were made available to expand and enhance current statewide home visiting programs, albeit to families at or below 200% of poverty. Results from the first year of the TANF Public Health Nurse Home Visiting Program involving 64 of the 87 counties highlight the effective collaboration between public health and human services/social services to provide home visits to TANF families. The need to integrate these three home visiting programs and reduce categorical funding led State agencies (health, education, human services), physicians, local public health agencies, health plans and other interested parties to develop recommendations for integration. Recommendations will be made on: vision, eligibility, goals/objectives, financing, evaluation/outcomes, and training. The Home Visiting Work Group's recommendations for integrating these three programs will be shared as well as lessons learned, remaining challenges and plans for the future.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Home Visiting, Challenges and Opportunities
Related Web page: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/homevisit
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.