When individuals meet with families, whether meeting through POCAN or Public Health Prenatal Care Coordination or Birth-3, they use a standard form
initially with families on the kinds of resources and supports the individuals might have.

Click here for standardized forms.

Probably some of what contributes to the positive response that families give to the program is the fact that some of the elements that we have standardized help families not have to repeat their stories to different service providers over and over again or start from the beginning. We’ve standardized between birth-3 and the public health departments’ POCAN program the referral form, the assessment tools we use for the families (the home instrument) where we use the family support/family resource scales, and we also have the Milwaukee Assessment, a tool that POCAN uses to assess environments and what a family’s strengths and needs are. Further we utilize the individualized family support plan, which is the same goal and support plan that would be used by the other partners that we work with in the projects. When we do reach a point where a family needs one or another of us we are able to move the family not just verbally through the transition but we also have the foundation around what their goals and plans are and can send that to the new resource so they can know what’s already been done without starting over.

So it’s really their plan, not our plan, and it should go with them. I think this helps facilitate the ease with which people can provide the support for families. In their willingness to engage with us they can reach the goals in a better fashion, by staying more focused and not re-developing their own goals with the family. I think that’s a real positive with what we’ve accomplished."

"I have some specific quotes [form our evaluation survey], so I might share a few of those, though we aren’t done yet with this collection by any means. Things that families that have been involved in the home visitation program have said:

• “They help with resources,”
• “I like everything about it!”
• “They’re very respectful and good to me.”
• “Whenever I had a problem they talked me through.”
• “They’ve been helpful with teaching me what to expect with what’s coming up,”--meaning developmentally, so if I know what’s normal for a child’s development I can respond more appropriately--
• “They’re able to tell us how our child is going to grow and develop.”
• “It’s nice that we don’t have to go to them to see them, and they try to help with any kinds of problems we might have!”