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However, given the funding challenges facing these and other mixed-delivery programs,
particularly funding for the in-home work of paid staff members, a lack of awareness of
the nature, extent and impact of staff members’ direct work with families is clearly not
in the programs’ best interest.
Staff members’ work should be communicated with both seriousness and a pride
in the ways that this delivery model makes important differences for children and
families. These programs are in an excellent position to educate people regarding the
multifaceted effectiveness of providing ‘higher-needs’ families with longer-term service
that is supportive, responsive, and highly skilled. Everyone – volunteers, stakeholders &
partners, potential funders, the public – needs to know exactly what these staff
members do, why their work is effective, and how valuable it is.
2. As feasible, programs should seek out ongoing communication and/or
collaboration with other home visiting programs, and in particular, other
mixed-delivery home visiting programs.
One of my own reflections regarding this study relates to the benefits I have
received from learning about other programs. To the extent that distance and busy
schedules will allow, program staff should be supported in efforts to be in contact with
other programs. As a starting point, with the permission of the manager of each
program, I will be forwarding a contact list to all mixed-delivery programs.
3. As necessary, programs should enhance program evaluation and data
collection.
Home visiting programs should review their current ongoing data collection and
evaluation methods vis-à-vis tracking the impact of the program on families, volunteers,
and the broader community. If these are found to be lacking, it is recommended that
programs make it a priority to improve these mechanisms. Once effective systems are
in place, relevant data can be collected on an on-going basis, and can provide key
contributions to program planning, development, and evaluation. As this will require
additional resources, funders are urged to support such efforts.
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