Understanding and Expanding the Reach of Home Visiting (HV-REACH)

Evidence-based early childhood home visiting programs support the health, safety, development, and financial self-sufficiency of parents, children, and families alike. Every year, hundreds of thousands of families benefit from these programs, and many more families are eligible and could benefit.

Mathematica and its partners from Brazelton Touchpoints Center and Social Grove are working with the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration, to build the knowledge base on how home visiting can better engage (1) families that are not recruited in the first place; (2) families that are recruited but do not enroll; (3) families that enroll, but never receive services; and (4) families that are recruited and engage initially, but end their participation early.

The HV-REACH project is developing resources to support practitioners as they engage families in home visiting, including:

• A literature synthesis to inform program practitioners and policymakers about the factors and strategies that facilitate family engagement in home visiting and the barriers to engagement 
• A conceptual framework of family engagement in home visiting, highlighting key factors at the family, home visitor, program, community, and systems level that interact to influence engagement
• A toolkit with practical resources for programs and home visitors to use in strengthening outreach, recruitment, retention, and active participation among families eligible for and interested in home visiting

The project is also developing study designs to investigate topics that could benefit from further research. For all core tasks, the project team is consulting with and incorporating feedback from interested parties from the practice field (such as state administrators, program staff, and families), and experts in home visiting research.