Home Visiting - A Proven Strategy for Strengthening Families

HOME
VISITING
A Proven Strategy for
Strengthening Families
Babies do not come with instruction manuals.
The prenatal period and the first years of
life are critical times for brain development
that lays the foundation for future success.
Parents struggling to figure out how to pay
the bills, buy food, and afford medicine
are under incredible pressure. Such highstress
demands can make the challenging
task of parenting even more difficult and
overwhelming–putting children at greater
risk for learning disabilities, behavior
problems, developmental delays, and
health problems.

Why Home Visiting?
Home visiting programs are aimed to reduce risks and aid in the
development of protective factors by partnering with the families they
serve and giving support throughout their child’s first few years. Home
visitors could be professionals like nurses or social workers, or they could
be trained outreach workers. Services vary by program and may include
providing prenatal support, educating parents about child development,
encouraging and supporting parents, ensuring families have a medical
provider, and connecting parents with services for their children and
themselves.
1
It’s cost-effective.
For every dollar spent on other early childhood treatments,
investments in home visiting programs produce a return on
investment of $1.80 to $5.70.
(2021 National Home Visiting Resource Center Yearbook)
2
It works.
The prenatal period and the first years of life are critical times for
brain development that lays the foundation for future success.
Families that participate in home visits are more likely to read
aloud, tell stories, sing nursery rhymes, and engage in play with
their children, thereby developing their children’s listening,
memory, and vocabulary skills. Research on
evidence-based home visiting models implies
favorable benefits on parenting that boost
children’s school readiness,
improve child health and
development, reduce child
abuse and neglect, and
improve parents’ capacity
to support their children’s
overall development.

A Proven Preventative Strategy
Home Visiting Is:
• Home visiting IS strengths based- A service approach that meets
families where they are at and together, creating a bridge to cross a
“gap” in the family’s life.
• Home visiting IS empowering- Through support and coaching,
planned regular visits with a trained professional are based on a
family’s needs and schedules.
• Home visiting IS voluntary-Parents are their child’s first teacher,
therefore parent’s are experts on their family. Participation is
decided by the parent.
• Home Visiting IS customized- With a variety of program model
delivery methods, home visiting programs offer the opportunity to
receive the right fit.
Home Visitation Focus Areas
1. Maternal Health
2. Early Childhood Development
3. Health, Safety & Nutrition
4. Healthy Family Functioning
5. School Readiness
6. Family Economic Self-Sufficiency
7. Community Resources and Support

How Smart Start of Mecklenburg
County Supports Home Visiting
Currently, Smart Start serves as a convenor and collaborator of local
home-visiting models in efforts to create a system of support to enhance,
expand, and advocate for high-quality home visitation programs enhancing
the workforce and coordinating referral processes.
Current Smart Start-Funded Programs:
These programs provide a range of home-based services to expectant or
new parents.
• Care Ring, Nurse-Family Partnership
• Communities in Schools, Safe Journey
• The YMCA of Greater Charlotte, YPAT
• Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, Child First
Mecklenburg County
Home Visiting Programs
Program Type:
Child First
Organization:
Children’s Home Society
Child First Referral Link -bit.ly/3NNmFyC
Or
Educating Parents – Children’s Home
Society of North Carolina (chsnc.org)
Trent Staton, MA
Director of Business Development
tstaton@chsnc.org
336-709-5449
Katie Robinson, LCSW
Director of Clinical Services
krobinson@chsnc.org
980-244-8986
Eligibility Criteria:
Infants and young children with behavioral/
emotional, developmental/learning
problems, and/or abuse and neglect OR
at risk for such conditions due to adverse
life circumstances – including parental
mental illness, substance use, maladaptive
parenting practices, interpersonal violence,
homelessness, incarceration, and/or extreme
poverty – in which there is considerable risk
to the health and development of the child.
Children ages 0-5 are eligible for the service.
Children must also have Medicaid in order to
be serviced. DC0-5/DSM diagnosis in order
to be treated.
Area service: Mecklenburg County

Program Type:
Child First
Organization:
Thompson Child and Family Focus
Referral - thompsoncff.org/child-first/
Or
therapy@thompsoncff.org
Quadisha Juarez, LCSW
Child First Clinical Program Supervisor
qjuarez@thompsoncff.org
704-221-0843
Mark Eberhardt, MSW
Operations Director, Early Childhood and
Prevention Services
meberhardt@thompsoncff.org
704-968-1736
Eligibility Criteria:
Infants and young children with behavioral/
emotional, developmental/learning
problems, and/or abuse and neglect OR
at risk for such conditions due to adverse
life circumstances – including parental
mental illness, substance use, maladaptive
parenting practices, interpersonal violence,
homelessness, incarceration, and/or extreme
poverty – in which there is considerable risk
to the health and development of the child.
Children ages 0-5 are eligible for the service.
Children must also have Medicaid in order to
be serviced. DC0-5/DSM diagnosis in order
to be treated.
Area service: Mecklenburg County &
adjacent surrounding counties
Program Type:
Early Head Start-Home Based
Organization:
Alliance Center for Education
www.ac4ed.org
Shanett Smith
Early Childhood Services
Shanett@ac4ed.org
Georgett Johnson
Out of School Time/Afterschool
Georgett@ac4ed.org
Eligibility Criteria:
Alliance Center for Education serves
pregnant moms and children ages 6 weeks
to 35 months in our Early Head Start
Program, children 3 years old to 5 years old
in our Head Start program, and children in
kindergarten through 12th grade in our Out
of School Time/Afterschool program.
Our goal is to serve children and families
who are at risk and experiencing the greatest
need.
We determine eligibility using proof of
income, proof of the child’s age, and proof of
pregnancy.
Program Type:
Nurse Family Partnership
Organization:
Care Ring
careringnc.org/nurse-family-partnership/
Piper Yerger, MSc, RN
Nurse Supervisor
704-248-3717
704-575-9329
Margaret Ivory MSN, BSN, RN
Nurse Supervisor
704-943-9749
980-219-0427
Nenneh Springs, MPH BSN RN
Nurse Supervisor
704-248-3719
704-804-4303
Eligibility Criteria:
Primiparous clients:
Be Pregnant; Income less than 200% of the
federal poverty level; Reside in Mecklenburg
County.
Multiparous clients:
Be Pregnant; Have at least 1 qualifying high
risk factor; Income less than 200% of the
federal poverty level; Reside in Mecklenburg
County.

Program Type:
Parent as Teachers
Organization:
Safe Journey/Communities In Schools
cischarlotte.org
English & Spanish referrals accepted
Steffanie Lewis
Director of Program Operations
slewis@cischarlotte.org
704-491-8142
Eligibility Criteria:
Teen Parenting Program (teen moms & teen
dads).
Must be a pregnant or parenting teen of a
child 0-5 years old.
Must be full-time high school students, or
willing to return to school to receive high
school diploma or equivalent; middle school
referrals accepted.
Must reside in Mecklenburg County.
LaKia Roseborough,
Administrative Support
lroseborough@cischarlotte.org
704-408-6111
Program Type:
Parents As Teachers
Organization:
YMCA of Greater Charlotte
Pilar Perez
pilar.perez@ymcacharlotte.org
704-995-1471
Eligibility Criteria:
Prenatal to 5 years old.
Low income families.
Mecklenburg County residents.
Program Type:
Parent Child Plus
Angie Drakeford
NC State Director
Adrakeford@parentchildplus.org
704-777-1207
Eligibility Criteria:
Parent Child+ seeks to serve historically
marginalized communities by providing
materials and supports to build early literacy,
school readiness, and early opportunity.
Historically marginalized: Families with low
incomes, families experiencing language
or literacy barriers, families experiencing
social isolation, families with limited assess
to education, families experiencing housing
insecurity, refugee and/or immigrant
families.
Organization:
Charlotte Bilingual Preschool
Iggy Austin
Charlotte Bilingual Preschool
ParentChildPlus Director
Iggy@bilingualpreschool.org
704-535-8080
Eligibility Criteria:
Parent Child+ One On One Model.
Offered to Charlotte Bilingual Preschool
families.
Early learning specialists implement
this model and share language/cultural
backgrounds of families served.

Organization:
Families First
Spencer Swain
Families First ParentChildPlus Director
Spencer.Swain@familiesfirstcc.org
704-786-5613
Eligibility Criteria:
Parent Child+ Home Based Child Care
Model
The Early Learning Specialist works directly
with the HBCC provider receiving 48 home
visits & an in site library with accompanying
guide sheets. Once the child turns 4, HBCC
providers will assist families w/ transitioning
into PC+ feeder PreK programs.
Organization:
Inlivian
Martie Bennett
Inlivian ParentChildPlus Coordinator
Mbennett@coreclt.org
704-336-4041
Eligibility Criteria:
Parent Child+ One On One Model offered to
Inlivian Families
Early learning specialists implement
this model and share language/cultural
backgrounds of families served.
Program Type:
A Guided Journey
Organization:
Mecklenburg County Dept of Public Health
& Care Ring
CareRingNC.Org
Referral:
(English & Spanish)
704-589-5168
704-332-0025
Omeika Dhanpaul
980-433-0749
ODhanpaul@careringnc.org
Eligibility Criteria:
Supports pregnant and postpartum women
Must be pregnant or 90 days postpartum
Lives in Mecklenburg County with a focus
on the following zip codes 28205, 28206,
28208, 28212, 28216, 28217.
Low income ( WIC, SNAP or Medicaid
Eligible - for example).
Program Type:
CDSA-Children’s Developmental Services
Agency
Organization:
Mecklenburg County Dept of Public Health
Referral form: https://bit.ly/3NNNIKk
cdsa@mecklenburgcountync.gov
704-336-7130
704-336-7452 (Spanish)
Eligibility Criteria:
A child and family may receive supports and
services if the child
• lives in Mecklenburg county
• is up to three years old and
• has certain levels of developmental
delay or an established condition.
A child with a developmental delay is not
developing like other children his age. The
delay can be in one or more of the following
areas:
• thinking and learning
• moving, seeing, hearing and health
• understanding and using sounds,
gestures and words
• responding to and developing
relationships
• taking care of one’s self when doing
things like feeding or dressing.

A child with an established condition has a
diagnosed health condition that will very
likely cause a developmental delay. This
includes:
• genetic disorders, such as Down
Syndrome or cystic fibrosis
• congenital infections, such as HIV and
rubella
• central nervous system disorders, such
as cerebral palsy and epilepsy
• hearing loss
• vision problems
• autism
Program Type:
CMARC-Care Management for At Risk
Children
Organization:
Mecklenburg County Dept of Public Health
Sybil Franklin
980-314-9355
Eligibility Criteria:
Case management services for high risk
children living in Mecklenburg County from
ages birth to 5 years of age.
Low income ( WIC, SNAP or Medicaid
Eligible - for example).
Melodee Harris
980-314-9336
CMARC@mecklenburgcountync.gov
Program Type:
CMHRP-Care Management for At Risk
Pregnancies
Organization:
Mecklenburg County Dept of Public Health
Nykkessia Jones
980-314-9621
Kimberly Sullivan
980-314-9121
CMHRP.Referrals@mecklenburgcountync.
gov
Eligibility Criteria:
Medicaid eligible
High-risk pregnancy
Medical and/or social needs
Program Type:
MIECHV Tribal/Nuti Yapę (Morning Sun)
Organization:
Catawba Indian Nation
Eligibility Criteria:
Indigenous households (prenatal to age 5);
referral procedure: email Hilary Harris.
Hilary Harris, FNP-C
hilary.harris@catawba.com
803-389-4698
Contact Info
Veronica Kirkland
Home Visiting Expansion Coordinator
vkirkland@smartstartofmeck.org