Welcome to the MIECHV monthly newsletter. We hope you will find the content informative. Our website is expected to launch Spring 2015. |
Key Contacts
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State MIECHV Lead:
Debbie Richardson, Ph.D.
Program Manager
Maternal & Child Health Home Visiting
Bureau of Family Health
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
785-296-1311
MIECHV Benchmark Reporting, Performance Management & Evaluation:
Teri A. Garstka, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Center for Public Partnership & Research
University of Kansas
785-864-3329
MIECHV CQI:
Kathy Bigelow, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor
Juniper Gardens Children's Project
University of Kansas
913-321-3143
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Quick Links
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Welcome to the New Year!
To start off 2015, this newsletter launches a fresh design. Over the past year, a logo to represent the larger Kansas Home Visiting collaboration has been under construction. After review and input from local and state MIECHV partners, we are excited to premier the new Kansas Home Visiting logo. The logo will be used to form a consistent "brand" and identity for statewide communications with various audiences. We would appreciate your thoughts at kshomevisiting@gmail.com.
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Data and Reporting News
Annual Data Report Accepted by HRSA
The third annual MIECHV federal data report was submitted in October and reviewed by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administrators and MIECHV technical assistance providers. As a result of the great efforts of everyone this year, federal reviewers fully accepted the Kansas MIECHV annual report without requiring any additional data work or revisions. The overall feedback was that Kansas provided an "excellent submission" to the federal data reporting system. In other words, awesome work this year!
MIECHV Technical Assistance Survey Results
Over the summer and fall months, KU-CPPR conducted a survey of Kansas MIECHV partners to gather feedback on the technical assistance materials they provide such as quarterly data reports, tickler reports, and data quality site visits. In general, Kansas MIECHV partners find technical assistance materials interpretable and sufficient to inform and improve continuous quality improvement efforts. However, some changes will be made to quarterly data reports as a result of the feedback. There will be three primary changes: 1) all bar and column charts will now have a uniform and consistent format, 2) a year-to-date (YTD) bar will be used to display current year figures as opposed to a separate colored chart for each quarter, and 3) more footnotes will be provided with charts explaining the populations observed for various constructs and figures. These changes were implemented in the end-of-year data report. Please let Jared and Tom know if you have questions regarding these changes or the reports by emailing jaredlee@ku.edu and t.ball@ku.edu.
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Motivational Interviewing Tips
Motivational Interviewing (MI) helps prepare home visitors to effectively engage families through collaborative, person-centered guidance, which helps to elicit and strengthen personal motivation for change. The tips below are intended to remind home visitors what was learned during MI training and help them be intentional about putting these lessons into practice.
- In using MI, you attempt to elicit motivation from the parent instead of trying to "install" it in them.
- It is the parent's reasons for change that are most important and will trigger change. Not ours.
- It's important to remember that parents have the autonomy to make decisions. We can't make them do anything. We can create an environment that increases motivation and options.
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Local Program Innovation
The My Family outreach and referral program in Cherokee County has been using some "out of the box," recruiting ideas. Cherokee County in far Southeast Kansas is a very rural area with limited resources so recruiting families for early childhood programs can be difficult. We utilize local grocery stores as an outreach opportunity to inform and engage families. Tables are set up with brochures, magnets, and fun giveaways to try to engage families that would otherwise not be aware of early childhood opportunities.
Families are also reached through a door hanger campaign. In rural communities you have to reach families "where they are" so we go door to door, leaving door hangers. The door hangers give families information about their child's development and provide contact information for My Family.
We have discovered in our "neck of the woods" that families need to hear the message multiple times before taking action. Our goal is to make sure everyone has had the opportunity to hear about the My Family program and is given the opportunity to further their child's educational and developmental needs. Together we are changing family life in Cherokee County, one family at a time! Submitted by Tiffany Green, My Family Outreach Coordinator, Cherokee County, Spring River Mental Health and Wellness.
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Did You Know?
Kansas MIECHV funds currently employ...
- 29 full-time home visitors - 11 in Southeast Kansas and 18 in Wyandotte County
- 8 full-time outreach and intake staff - 4 in Southeast Kansas and 4 in Wyandotte County
- 2 full-time Moving Beyond Depression program therapists in Wyandotte County
- Portions of other administrative and support staff for the local implementing agencies.
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Upcoming Activities and Dates for MIECHV Partners
| January 29 |
Wyandotte County MIECHV Team, 9:00am-12:00pm, Unified Government Public Health Department, 619 Ann Ave., 3rd Floor Operations Center, Kansas City, KS.
| | February 2 |
Trauma Informed Care, 9am-noon, Wyandotte County, Location TBD.
| | February 5 |
State Home Visiting Leadership Group, 1:00pm-4:00pm, Curtis Building/KDHE, Flint Hills Room, 3rd Floor, Topeka, KS.
| | February 19-20 |
Partnering with Teen Parents Training, DCF Learning Center, Topeka, KS. Click here to register! or contact mary.gallow@parentsasteachers.org. Open to all. | | March 2-3 |
| | March 22 |
SE Kansas MIECHV Team, 10:00am-2:00pm, SEK-CAP, 401 Sinnet, Girard, KS.
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March 26
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Wyandotte County MIECHV Team, 1:00pm-4:00pm, Unified Government Public Health Department, 619 Ann Ave., 3rd Floor Operations Center, Kansas City, KS.
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Past MIECHV Newsletters
Past newsletters have been archived and can be accessed here. |
Contact Us
If you have ideas for the newsletter, feedback, questions, comments, concerns, etc. please email kshomevisiting@gmail.com
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This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program Development Grant to States (Grant # D89MC25208, $2,847,000). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
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