Kansas MIECHV Newsletter
Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood 
Home Visiting Program


  


Welcome to the MIECHV monthly newsletter. We hope you will find the content informative. Our website is expected to launch Fall 2015.  
 
In This Issue
C.A.R.E. Summit
Reflective Supervision Groups
Local Program Input
Home Visitor Interpreter Follow Up Workshop
Did You Know?
Upcoming Activities and Dates
Past MIECHV Newsletters

Key Contacts 
________________
 
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
_________________________ 




Quick Links  
C.A.R.E. Summit
Cultural Awareness, Respect, and Engagement

 A Cultural Awareness mini summit to discuss serving diverse populations is scheduled for September 25, 9:00am-noon, at the Kansas City DCF office, 402 State Ave., Kansas City, KS. This event is offered at no cost to all MIECHV program staff (including MIECHV and non-MIECHV funded), but registration is required. Summit content is anticipated to include identification of existing community resources, best practice from community partners, lessons learned from home visitors, and personal experiences from refugee/immigrant families. Please watch for registration and agenda information in early September. For more information, contact Betsy Thompson at betsythompson@ku.edu.
Reflective Supervision Groups
  
 The Kansas MIECHV program implemented reflective supervision groups as a strategy to improve practice. All MIECHV program home visitors and their supervisors participate in a monthly group with their peers. Research suggests access to reflective supervision creates an opportunity for self-exploration and insight; resulting in a higher quality of service and better outcomes for families. Reflective supervision also helps home visitors address feelings of isolation through sharing with their peers who are often experiencing similar feelings.
 
 Reflective supervision groups discuss cases through a relationship lens (provider/supervisor; provider/parent, parent/child) looking at the emotional content and how it can affect practice. It is a therapeutic approach to personal and professional development.
Forming a trusting and safe environment is essential to the group, but it takes time. When new members are added, dynamics change and adjustments may need to be made. I work to provide an environment that fosters "curiosity and wonder" about the cases/families presented. This type of "not knowing" can open up new ways for being and thinking about a family when not rushed to "fix them".
 
 One area of focus in the next year is on self-care and mindfulness. I am passionate about reflective supervision and its focus on a collaborative process. I continue to learn and grow along with each group.
 
 Submitted by Shelley Mayse, LSCSW, Reflective Supervision Facilitator

Local Program Input
 
 Attending group supervision has been a great experience for me. It is place that I can feel accepted, validated and supported. I have presented several cases in reflective supervision, where I was ambiguous on how to best support the family. Through reflection and feedback from colleagues and our facilitator I have been able to get through those "stuck" spots, and better support the families on my caseload. Supervision is a safe haven where I am able to process my emotions both personally and professionally, because of this I am able to be a better home visitor and a strong support for the families that I serve. Reflective supervision keeps me away from professional burnout and compassion fatigue. Without it, I would not be able to continue the work that I love to do.
 
Submitted by LJW, Turner PAT
Home Visitor and Interpreter Follow Up Workshop

 Connections: Building Skills and Knowledge for Cross-Cultural Home Visits is a half day workshop for both home visitors and the interpreters they use in their work. Home visitors and interpreters will work collaboratively to learn about cultural considerations such as culture bias in screening and assessment and interpreting technical language. This workshop builds upon best practices and ethical considerations in interpreting covered in the previous workshop, Bridging Linguistic and Cultural Barriers through Interpretation. Activities focus on building practical skills for working with culturally and linguistically diverse clients, and include opportunities to role play interpreted sessions, work with specific instruments to identify cultural obstacles and more. Workshops are scheduled for SE Kansas and Wyandotte County in September. See "Upcoming Activities" below for dates and locations. For more information, please contact Adam Brazil (brazila@ku.edu) or Stephanie Christenot (sac625@ku.edu). 
Did You Know?
  • From October 2014 through June 2015, over 500 families were served by MIECHV home visitors.
  • Over 140 families have been involved in their home visiting program for more than 18 months, another 60 for more than a year.
Upcoming Activities and Meetings
for MIECHV Partners
 
September 9th
Connections: Building Skills and Knowledge for Cross-Cultural Home Visits, 9:00 - 1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, 200 S. Penn Ave., Independence, KS.
September 11th
SE Kansas MIECHV Team, 10:00am - 2:00 pm, SEK-CAP, Labette Center for Mental Health, 1730 Belmont, Parsons, KS.
September 18th
Sustainability Action Planning Group, 9:00 - 4:30 pm, Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St., Lawrence, KS.
September 25th
Home Visitor Cultural Awareness Mini Summit, 9:00am-noon, Kansas City DCF Office, 402 State Ave., Kansas City, KS.
September 25th
Connections: Building Skills and Knowledge for Cross-Cultural Home Visits, 1:00-4:00pm, Kansas City DCF Office, 402 State Ave., Kansas City, KS.
October 2nd
Data/Evaluation/CQI Workgroup, 9:00am-noon, KU-CPPR, 1617 St. Andrews, Lawrence, KS.
October 9th
Wyandotte County MIECHV Team, 9:00am-noon, Kansas City, KS.
November 18th
State Home Visiting Leadership Group, 1:00-4:00pm, Curtis Building/KDHE, Topeka, KS.
November 20th
SE Kansas MIECHV Team, 10:00-2:00pm, SEK-CAP, Labette Center for Mental Health, 1730 Belmont, Parsons, KS.
December 3rd
Wyandotte County MIECHV Team, 1:00-4:00pm, Kansas City, KS.
December 4th
Data/Evaluation/CQI Workgroup, 9:00-11:30am, KU-CPPR, 1617 St. Andrews, Lawrence, KS.

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.