Mountain States Early Head Start
Infant to Toddler Program of the Mountain States Group, Inc.

What is a home visit?

Home visits are the core of all EHS programs. As the name implies, these are regularly scheduled meetings between parent(s), child and Family Consultant (FC) that take place in the home. Each Home Visit lasts about 90 minutes and you will receive about one each week. Family Consultants work with parents to create a convenient schedule for home visits.

What happens on a home visit?

Home visits are focused on the child and his family. They are individualized for each family but discussions and activities center on child development and health topics, family and personal goals, the parent-child relationship and resource ideas, community and EHS services and events of interest to the family. Family Consultants will help parents think about their individual and family needs and goals and together develop a plan to accomplish those goals.

Parents also help staff complete developmental and health screenings of their child to identify possible concerns and track how they are growing and learning. The parent and Family Consultant work together to design activities for home visits that enhance the parent-child relationship and the child's development. Observations about the child and pictures for the child's portfolio are always included in the visits.

During pregnancy, planning for the new baby, prenatal health and child development will be emphasized on home visits.

What can parents expect from their Family Consultant?

She will bring screening tools to your home to help you determine if your child is developing according to a typical schedule. She will also help you become more familiar with developmental milestones and plan parent-child activities that will be fun and challenging for your child. She will keep you informed about EHS activities including classes, groups, social events, committees and play groups.

What are Parent-Child Activities?

Parent-child activities – done between home visits – take advantage of time that parents and children spend together doing everyday things as well as times when a special activity is planned. These activities make the parent-child relationship stronger and provide learning opportunities. FCs will help parents identify and use materials already in the home and recognize teaching moments that occur naturally. Parents record these activities to measure progress toward goals and help generate valuable in-kind match dollars for the program.