State project staff recently attended the National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting in Washington, D.C. and learned of efforts to reauthorize federal funding for the MIECHV Program.  The initial five-year authorization will expire in 2014. This does not impact the final year of FY'14 formula funding the state expects for the next program year (year 5).   Multiple national organizations, agencies, and advocates have already been working on MIECHV reauthorization strategies and much information is being shared with members of Congress, legislative aides, and White House administration. The current national strategy is focused on including reauthorization language in what is termed the "doc fix" and "extenders package" legislation. Private citizens can share support for the MIECHV program by contacting Kansas members of Congress to educate them about how the program works and why it's important for Kansas children.

In June/July, 2013, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) commissioned a national survey to measure satisfaction of local agencies involved with the MIECHV Program. Ratings were based on satisfaction in areas such as enrollment, customer service, technical assistance, data systems and reporting, training and program implementation.

Nationally, overall satisfaction was rated at 76%.  Key areas needing improvement were the enrollment process and data systems and reporting.   Kansas received an 86% overall satisfaction rating. Mirroring national feedback, the enrollment process was of most concern.  Issues related to finding and retaining families, addressing mental health and substance abuse issues of participants and professional development were also a concern.

Kansas received high ratings in customer service, technical assistance, communication, and data and reporting.  Local Kansas MIECHV partners that participated in the survey indicated issues and concerns brought to the attention of state project staff were responded to and resolved in a timely manner 100% of the time.  Data and reporting satisfaction was high, with 100% of respondents agreeing data and reporting requirements were "about right".

The survey confirmed Kansas MIECHV work at the state and local levels is moving in the right direction.

The final set of Motivational Interviewing trainings for MIECHV program staff who have not yet participated are scheduled February 28 in Parsons and March 7th in Kansas City, Kansas.  Motivational Interviewing was chosen as a professional development focus area because it seeks to better equip and prepare home visitors to effectively engage families through collaborative, person-centered guidance, which helps to elicit and strengthen personal motivation for change. Motivational Interviewing is an evidence-based approach that is non-judgmental, empathetic, and egalitarian-based that has been shown to be associated with improved client alliance and engagement.  KU-CPPR will evaluate the Motivational Interviewing training by attending the trainings and assessing participant knowledge of the approach pre and post training. They also will survey training participants six months after the training to assess the extent to which they use Motivational Interviewing techniques in their practice with families.

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a key component of the MIECHV project.  CQI is a process for ensuring that programs are intentionally and systematically examining their services and implementing data-based solutions. Currently, programs are focusing on applying CQI processes to the administration of screening tools aimed at identifying needs related to substance use, intimate partner violence, and maternal depression, and related referrals. Programs are reviewing their data and implementing solutions that help to assure that these screens are administered on schedule. They are also examining referrals, and the degree to which families follow-through in obtaining related services. Using an Excel file that generates graphs summarizing these data, programs can view their data in a timely manner and more closely examine the effectiveness of new solutions. Our goal is to increase screening rates, and provide support for families following through with referrals.

Between December and February, the performance management team from KU - CPPR met with each Kansas MIECHV grantee individually to provide technical assistance surrounding Benchmark data collection and quality improvement.  As a result of feedback and inquiry from these meetings, the performance management team is compiling a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to be released next month.  The FAQ will clarify construct-specific definitions and identify the appropriate timing for data collection.  

 As the Kansas MIECHV Program plans evolved in 2011, the partners in Montgomery County identified a priority need was to establish a centralized system to coordinate outreach, screening, intake and referrals. The Four County Mental Health Center, Inc. was determined to be an excellent lead agency for this endeavor. The local MIECHV team selected the name My Family for this service and set to work developing processes, forms, and communication ideas. The Montgomery County My Family Program has served 450 families since it officially launched in late February 2012.  While the priority is to assist the local MIECHV home visiting programs with outreach and building caseloads, My Family also helps connect pregnant women and families with young children to the array of community resources that address their needs. Currently in our third year of operation, we have two staff members. The My Family Coordinator, Nina Alexander, recently relocated to the Arco Building in Independence which also houses the Kansas Department for Children and Families, Kansas Works of Southeast Kansas and other public services. Our My Family Specialist, Cathy Shald, is located in the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Coffeyville. My Family staff are available to families in the community in which they are currently accessing services. Our largest referral source is the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) food and nutrition monthly clinics. We also attend community fairs, club meetings and meet with community partners in the field to continue to spread the word of the My Family Program. My Family continually educates people on the impact early childhood education has on a child's overall success in life. Our primary goal is that all children have access to early learning opportunities and with funding through MIECHV we are working to make that dream a reality for our Kansas children.  

This is the first in a series of articles to help you get to know and understand the roles of the MIECHV state project team. Each month, or so, we will feature project team members from KDHE, KU and others. 

The Kansas MIECHV program is led by Dr. Debbie Richardson, program manager in the Maternal and Child Health Unit, Bureau of Family Health, at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  As Project Manager for the Kansas MIECHV program, Debbie oversees all aspects of project administration, program planning, and implementation and provides direction to project staff by prioritizing data-informed practice and accountability of programs to a state and federally approved Benchmark Plan.  Debbie's matter of fact manner in helping teams address difficult issues is greatly appreciated by everyone involved in the project. 

Assisting Debbie with facilitating state and local work groups is January Scott, President and CEO of JHS Solutions.  Her assistance in helping workgroups to address productive collaboration and change by guiding the development of strategic and implementation plans has been critical to the success of Kansas MIECHV.   January has more than 30 years working in executive and management positions, primarily in the non-profit arena, with particular focus on child abuse prevention and early childhood issues. 

March 7          Motivational Interviewing Part I Training  - Wyandotte Co.

March 7          SE KS MIECHV team meeting 10am - 2pm in Parsons

March 19        State Home Visiting Workgroup Strategic Planning meeting 

                       10am - 2pm in Topeka

March 27        Wyandotte County team meeting 11am - 3pm at Children's Campus