Reflections on Start Early’s National Home Visiting Virtual Summit
During UIC School of Public Health’s Spring Break, I had the privilege of attending Start Early’s National Home Visiting Virtual Summit (March 22-24th, 2022) with funding from the UIC Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health. The conference included ~1,000 home visitors and other service providers, researchers, lawyers, systems leaders, parents, policy advocates, and students who are committed to improving early childhood outcomes. Attendees Zoomed in from 49 states, DC, Puerto Rico and 6 countries. There were over 65 on-demand sessions that focused on key areas including transitions to pandemic and post-pandemic home visiting, policy, workforce development, health equity, and social justice.
Before attending the summit, I was not familiar with home visiting as a system in Maternal and Child Health. As such, I was excited for the opportunity to learn from nationally-regarded keynote speakers and panelists and to network with professionals who are directly involved in this work. Home visiting is a prevention strategy that supports pregnant moms and new parents through planned visits with a trained support person (social worker, nurse, or early childhood specialist) who listens to their needs and connects them to additional services as necessary.
This conference reinforced for me the importance of family and community engagement as being central to the field of home visiting. Working directly with families and communities promotes equity by ensuring that the needs of those most directly impacted by systemic issues of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression are elevated and prioritized. I was grateful for the emphasis on community-based participatory practice because it directly applies to and expands on the knowledge I have acquired through my community health coursework about what it means to work with rather than for communities. Thought-provoking sessions including “Centering Parent Leadership in All We Do”, “Supporting Autonomic Emotional Connection within Virtual Home Visits” and “Belonging in Practice” highlighted the importance of centering families and fostering relationships that are meaningful, authentic and rooted in trust, love, and care. It is crucial that we center and elevate the perspectives of infants, children, and families to maximize impact. I appreciated these sessions because I felt that the ideas discussed were applicable to a wide range of early childhood sectors, not just home visiting.
The plenary titled “Using Innovative Funding Strategies and Equitable Approaches to Strengthen Early Childhood” was easily the most powerful and impactful session I attended. It offered unique perspectives about successes and challenges in creating supports that center the needs of families and communities through equity and prevention. I was particularly moved by Tacoria Jones’ perspective on parent leadership and the way that the attendees reacted by coming together in solidarity to show respect and appreciation. Tacoria used her own lived experience to convey, with great transparency and vulnerability, the degree to which home visiting can prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and save lives. As a 30-year-old Black single houseless mother of three who had recently been released from prison, her first encounter with a home visiting professional came at a much-needed time. Instead of removing her children from the home, Tacoria’s home visitor really saw her and met her with empathy, earnestness, and connection. This approach was a huge contrast from the barriers, challenges, and trauma that Tacoria was used to. Tacoria’s story really speaks to the power of loving, trauma-informed approaches to working with families. We must center families’ needs as well as acknowledge the impact that historical trauma and structural racism and classism play on families’ stories and experiences.
Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the conference as a first-year student and found it to be informative and influential. I highly recommend the Home Visiting conference to anyone interested in advancing equity in MCH, particularly as it pertains to the field of early childhood.
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