Dakota County Community Services Division

Family Home Visiting

Expectant parents, parents, or guardians of children five years old and younger can get in-home coaching with parenting skills and connections to community resources

Description

Family Home Visiting is a voluntary, home-based service ideally delivered prenatally through a child's first few years.

Using information from developmental and risk assessments, a trained home visitor visits the family on a routine basis and works with the family on goals they have established together.

Home visiting uses a multi-generational approach, benefiting pregnant and parenting families with young children by:

• Helping parents and caregivers develop safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments that support healthy development
• Connecting families to community services, such as referrals for pregnant women to prenatal care
• Supporting parents as a child's first teacher
• Fostering parenting skills that decrease the risk of child abuse

Features

• Evidence-Based Programs
  • Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-Visiting (MECSH)

• Specialization
  • Family

Eligibility

Most programs offer services prenatally through children up to five years of age. Families who present the greatest need are prioritized to receive visits, including those who may have the following risk factors:

• Adolescent parents
• History of child or domestic abuse, or other types of violence including victimization
• History of homelessness or low resiliency to adversities and environmental stressors
• Mental health disorders including maternal depression or reduced cognitive function
• History of alcohol or substance use
• Insufficient financial resources and economic instability due to employment barrier

Nearly all Family Home Visiting in Minnesota uses an evidence-based home visiting model that varies slightly in audience, eligibility, and focus.

Application Instructions

There is no application process. Families interested in enrolling are connected with trained home visitors.