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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MIECHV Program Funding Updates
Kansas awarded over $10 million! After much hard work and anticipation, Kansas received official notices of award by the DHHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the federal fiscal year 2015 (FFY2015) Competitive Grant and Formula Grant. The competitive grant was funded for $9.4 million, the maximum possible, and the formula grant was fully awarded in the amount of $1,056,142. The project period is March 1, 2015 - September 30, 2017. See our November 2014 newsletter for further details.
To learn more about the federal Home Visiting awards Click here!
Reports of the Kansas grant awards were covered by the Topeka Capitol Journal (Click here) and Kansas Health Institute new service (Click here).
MIECHV Program Reauthorization.
Federal authorization expires on March 31, 2015. See our February 2015 newsletter for further details. There are significant efforts underway nationwide to communicate with Congress about the need to reauthorize and continue funding of the MIECHV Program for federal fiscal year 2016 and beyond. The following is a link to an immediate call to action by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Click here to read further!
Kansas Head Start Association, Kansas Parents as Teachers Association, and Kansas Children's Service League/Prevent Child Abuse Kansas have devoted considerable time to educate the Kansas Congressional delegation about MIECHV. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.
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Evaluation Activities
Close collaboration among partners is important for achieving the best outcomes for families and we are interested in understanding what factors drive effective collaboration efforts in Kansas MIECHV. The CPPR evaluation team is currently collecting data about collaboration activities in both the Wyandotte County and Southeast Kansas community workgroups. Specifically, we are asking a representative from each organization in the community workgroup to complete the PARTNER Tool on behalf of their organization. The PARTNER Tool is an electronic survey that is used to understand how organizations within the workgroup are connected, to identify gaps, and to understand how resources are leveraged among partners. If you received a request to participate, please don't forget to do so. Thank you!
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Local Program Success
The outcome of a Parent Educator working as a team with a Moving Beyond Depression program therapist was an awareness that domestic violence in the home was more severe than had been disclosed. The Parent Educator used motivational interviewing questions to encourage the mother to share more about the situation at home, but no additional information was learned. At the next visit, the Parent Educator noticed a bullet hole in the back windshield of the mother's car. When asked, the mother revealed the father of her children destroyed her phone and shot a bullet through the windshield and then pointed the gun at her. The Parent Educator allowed the mother to use her phone to call a domestic violence shelter however, the mother was unsure she wanted to go to the shelter because she didn't have any money or clean laundry. Attempts to follow up with the mother were unsuccessful for several weeks, but eventually the Parent Educator reached her and learned she had been staying in a domestic violence shelter.
Submitted by Jillian Porter, Parents as Teachers program coordinator, USD 202 Turner Public Schools, Wyandotte County.
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Did You Know?
- MIECHV families averaged 18 home visits per family since January 2012.
- 100% of families have received at least 1 screening (depression, domestic violence, substance abuse), thus far in year 4.
- The mean number of weeks that mothers breastfeed has increased to over 32 weeks.
- Parental support of children's learning and development show improvement over one year.
- 8 out of 10 women and children are covered with health insurance.
- Data quality site visits are coming in the next few months.
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Home Visitor and Interpreter Workshop
The capacity to work with non-English speaking mothers and families has been an ongoing and increasing challenge faced by the local home visiting and coordinated outreach and referral programs, particularly in Wyandotte County. Many programs have engaged the use of interpreters to communicate with families, yet there are difficulties with this process and local MIECHV partners have requested further training on effective practices. To meet this need, KU-CPPR has designed a one-day training workshop, "Equitable Access: Bridging Cultural and Linguistic Barriers through Interpretation" that will provide separate tracks for interpreters and home visitors who work with interpreters. Training modules will cover interpreting best practices, role and rights of the interpreter, interpreting technical language, and cultural considerations. Coaching and practice to improve interpretation experiences will be interwoven throughout the workshop.
This full day workshop for MIECHV partners is scheduled Monday, March 30, 9:00 - 4:00, in Kansas City, free of cost to home visitors, supervisors, and interpreters.
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Upcoming Activities and Dates for MIECHV Partners
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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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March 27
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SE Kansas MIECHV Team, 10:00-2:00, SEK-CAP, 401 North Sinnet, Girard.
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March 30
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Equitable Access: Bridging Cultural and Linguistic Barriers through Interpretation, The Children's Campus of Kansas City, 444 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, KS.
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April 3
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MIECHV Data/Evaluation/CQI Workgroup, 9:00-11:30 am, KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research, Lawrence, KS.
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April 4
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Mental Health First Aid, 8:00am-5:30pm, Labette Center for Mental Health Services, Parsons, KS. Contact: Monica Simpson at 620-421-3770 or monica@lcmhs.com
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April 6
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Poison Prevention Training, Stefanie Baines, 10:00am-12:00pm, Four County Mental Health Center, 1601 W. 4th St., Coffeyville, KS. Contact Nina Alexander at 620-330-4850.
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State Home Visiting Leadership Group, 1:00-4:00pm, Curtis Building/KDHE, Topeka.
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April 24
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Wyandotte County MIECHV Team, 1:00-4:00, Children's Campus, 3rd Floor - 444 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS.
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May 14
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State Home Visiting Leadership Group, 1:00-4:00 pm, Curtis Building, KDHE, Topeka, KS.
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May 15
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SE Kansas MIECHV Team, 10:00-2:00, Labette Center for Mental Health, 1730 Belmont, Parsons, 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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