S Health - Planning Grant and Equipment and Program Improvement Grants from the Orange County Partnership for Young Children through the state's "Smart Start" program

Browse Search

4 UNIVERSAL HOME VISITING OF FAMILIES WITH NEWBORNS IN ORANGE COUNTY Problem Statement : The service delivery system in Orange County is unable to identify all families and children in need of health and human services , and even when identified, families are not always y willing or able to access needed services . The current network of home visiting services is fragmented and lacks the capacity to identify and serve all families in need of such service' s , Problem Resolution: A universal home visiting program has the potential to identify, at the earliest possible time, families with newborns who need health and human services and to provide these services and/or refer families to appropriate-resources including" g. among others , the Child Service Coordination Program. At-risk families often face barriers to accessing needed services . These barriers can be financial , structural , or personal . Home visiting can be an effective strategy in overcoming these barriers through g the provision of services in the home . In 1992 , 1153 new Orange g County residents were born. Of these 573 ( 47% ) were born in the county and 635 ( 53% ) were born out of the county. The United States General Accounting office ( GAO) report, Home Visitin A Promising Earl Intervention Strategy for At-Risk Families ( 1990 ) , defines home visiting as "a strategy that delivers health, social support, or educational services directly to individuals in their homes . " A Pound of Prevention : The Case or Universal Maternity Care In the U. S . , ( 1992 ) , edited rrbyKotch and associates , points out that home visiting services are particularly useful in accessing groups that are difficult to reach y through center-based or other more usual service deliver methods . Home visiting services differ from strict case management services in that social and health, as well as , educational services are delivered in the home . Post-partum/newborn assessments , psycho-social counseling, and parenting education and modeling are examples of services that can be delivered in the home . It is also possible, however, for the home visitor to provide case management services . Collaborators : In developing the idea and determining the need for this planning grant, discussion has occurred with Karen Metzger, RN, of UNC Hospitals , Robin McCoy of Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools , Bill Frenzel of the Orange County Schools , Anne Maiden of the Hearth Foundation, as well as , the nursing and social work staff at the Health Department . The concept was also briefly discussed with the Child Service Coordination Collaborative Team. Contributed resources will likely be office space , equipment and consultation to the individual hired to carry out the planning grant .