I appreciated watching the videos on the FIND video coaching intervention with home visits. Besides the coaching intervention — which seemed wise, and made sense — I liked seeing the sections on how they developed the research program with university researchers and the social services organization in the Seattle area. I could understand how the social service providers would find it energizing to have a research program taking interest in their work.
The FIND video coaching intervention seems like it could be effective because the video product (for the parent or caregiver) is very condensed — edited down to one or two “effective interaction moments” the caregiver had with the child. The parent/caregiver, and the coach, have just a short amount of video to review — and it’s the moments that the coach wants to emphasize were effective for the child, for the child’s development, and for the child/caregiver relationship.
For each session, the home visitor takes about 10 minutes of video, as the parent/caregiver and the child go about their day. The FIND team take the video and edit it to focus on the effective interactions between the caregiver and the child. When the coach and the caregiver meet to go over the video, the coach can leave the caregiver with the positive feeling, “wow, I did a good job with that interaction!”
Watching the Providence Talks video, I saw another example of a positive program involving home visits.
I think, from evidence I’ve seen, that home visit programs can be effective (like Head Start). I haven’t been part of a formal home visit program, but I know some clinicians who are very talented and dedicated and make a huge difference with their populations.
The Providence Talks program seems interesting. I would want to learn more about it — the short news clip only gave an introduction.
I noticed that Rita Pierson mentioned her mother made home visits in the afternoons, during her teaching career. What a wonderful, caring approach to education, which made a big difference in the lives of families and students!
I don’t know too many teachers who make home visits, currently. I made a very few, when I was a teacher in Philadelphia. I remember those visits, even today, so I know the visits were important. I hope the visits helped the students and the families.