Helping Home Visitors Address Sensitive Topics With Families: An Overview of Three Professional Development Initiatives

Home visitors often confront sensitive issues when meeting with families.

Family stressors such as maternal depression, substance use, and intimate partner violence can restrict parents’ caregiving abilities and negatively impact children. They also pose professional challenges to home visitors.

This brief summarizes three initiatives that use targeted professional development and training to help home visitors navigate sensitive topics. All are supported by the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program:

• Maryland Home Visitor Training and Certificate Program
• Region X Home Visiting Innovation Award Project (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska)
• Louisiana Home Visiting Innovation Award Project