Predictors of Burnout Across Three Major Home Visiting Programs

This study explored predictors of home visitor burnout. It examined how depression, job satisfaction, and knowledge of infant development predicted three dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). It also compared three prominent home visiting models in predicting burnout. Results showed multiple correlates of all three dimensions of burnout. In multiple regressions, depression predicted emotional exhaustion, while job satisfaction variables predicted personal accomplishment. Being in Early Head Start rather than Nurse-Family Partnership or Healthy Families America was predictive of greater burnout.

Objectives

1) To demonstrate different predictors of home visitor burnout 2) To compare home visiting programs in predicting burnout 3) To make suggestions for practice regarding reducing home visitor burnout

The Family Life Education Approach to Home Visiting: A Qualitative Study

This qualitative research addressed how the FLE approach transformed the work of an EHS home visiting site, which transitioned from a child-centered toy approach to a FLE approach. Three major themes emerged: Paradigm Shift to FLE, Knowledge and Experience in Developmental Science and Family Science, and Empowerment and Intentionality of EHS Home Visiting. The themes captured participants' views about the challenges of transition from a child-centered to FLE approach, the challenges to obtaining a CFLE, and insight into families in poverty. Participants discussed their conceptualization of the role of the home visitor, which has implications for expanding Petkus' (2015) framework.

Objectives

• To explore a FLE approach to EHS HV via the presentation of qualitative data • To suggest conceptual expansions to the extant FLE model to EHS HV (see Petkus, 2015) • To promote presenter and audience discussion about a FLE approach to EHS HV

Home Visitor Perspectives on Engaging Families

This study involved a qualitative analysis of home visitors' perceptions of engagement of families in an Early Head Start home visiting program. Home visitors were interviewed regarding their overall perceptions of the program, the families they found easiest to engage with, and barriers to engagement. Results demonstrated that characteristics of the client, the home visitor, and the home visitor-client relationship impacted engagement. The importance of building a strong working alliance with families, flexibility in working with different families, and having skills to cope with families in crisis were broader themes across interviews.

Objectives

1) To qualitatively explore aspects of home visitor engagement 2) To analyze home visitor engagement from a home visitor perspective 3) To inform home visitor practice in the area of engagement

Improving Early School Attendance by Establishing Outreach to Families

Kindergarten attendance is a predictor of children’s ongoing academic success. This study evaluated an intervention program designed to improve school attendance rates by establishing outreach between schools and kindergarten students’ families. Outreach workers were hired to by ten schools in an urban area to identify kindergarteners as soon as they begin missing school, make contact with the students’ families, and connect them to appropriate services. Attendance rates were compared between intervention and comparison schools to reveal a promising trend. Preliminary results show that early, concentrated intervention that engages families is linked to incremental improvement in attendance rates.

Objectives

1. To demonstrate the importance of school attendance 2. To describe predictors of chronic absenteeism 3. To evaluate a program designed to improve school attendance