Home Visitation at Children’s Service Society of Utah is a critical community service in Salt Lake County that targets low income and high-risk families throughout pregnancy until their child enters kindergarten to promote school readiness, maternal, infant, and early childhood health, safety and development.
Key indicators of risk for children in SL County homes include:
- poverty
- unemployment
- lack of affordable housing
- adolescent parents
- parental stress
- domestic violence
- transient environment
- infant mortality
- low birth weights
- preterm births
- poor basic health care for children
- lack of parenting skills
- mental illness and health issues
- substance abuse &
- involvement in the child welfare system
These key indicators and other situations can cause toxic stress within a family that can have life-long effects on young children exposed. In 2017, 135 families and 361 individuals were served.
CHIPHome Visitation (HV) services are provided by parent educators who are trained and certified in the Parents as Teachers (PAT) model. They connect families to the resources they need to address the complexity of issues in their lives. The program uses the PAT evidence-based home visiting model designed to provide the information, support and encouragement that high-risk parents need to prevent child abuse and neglect and help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life. By emphasizing the parent’s role in supporting their child, a foundation is laid for the family.
There are four components to the program:
- Personal visits are delivered bi-monthly or more often depending on family needs to develop family support and parenting education, child and family development, health, safety and nutrition
- Group Connections– monthly social activities- parents connect to other families to build supportive peer relationships
- Screenings which provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues
- Connections to community resources such as TANF, WIC, Social Security, Medicaid, CHIP, Housing Authorities and Department of Workforce Services
Currently there are 55 families receiving Home Visitation services in Salt Lake County. The Home Visitation program at Children’s Service Society has a Pacific Island Specialist who works exclusively with this underserved population. Of the 55 families currently being served 20 of those families are Pacific Islanders.
A donation of $50,000 could support 1,000 home visits, as it is estimated that a home visit costs $50. One thousand visits would provide 55 families with 18 visits each, or nine months of bi-monthly visits for 55 families.