The MDH Family Home Visiting (FHV) Section offers consultation for programming and support in best practices to local public and tribal health, and non-profit home visiting programs. This work supports the integration of family home visiting into the state's comprehensive early childhood system. MDH FHV Team understand the importance of relationship building with a variety of partners to increase capacity for communities to promote the healthy development of children, secure attachments between caregivers and children, increase self-sufficiency and safety of families with infants and improved pregnancy outcomes. MDH FHV Team provide support through consultation, technical support and training to local public health, non-profits, and tribal nations throughout Minnesota.

Evidence-Based Family Home Visiting in Minnesota

Among the 19 home visiting models identified as meeting evidentiary criteria set forth by MIECHV, Minnesota chose to support implementation of Nurse-Family Partnership, Healthy Families America, Family Spirit, Parents as Teachers, Family Connects, Early Head Start, and Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting. Some sites, who are not affiliated/accredited, are integrating evidence informed home visiting practices into their program.

The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) Model

The Nurse-Family Partnership Model aims at improving the lives of vulnerable first-time parents delivered by caring maternal and child health nurses. NFP goals include improved pregnancy outcomes, improved child health, improved child development and improved economic self-sufficiency.

Healthy Families America (HFA) Model

Healthy Families America (HFA) is the signature program of Prevent Child Abuse America.
Healthy Families America (HFA) Model is designed to work with families who are at-risk for adverse childhood experiences. Visit Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Minnesota for more information. Services begin prenatally or soon after the birth of a baby. HFA goals include building community partnerships to engage families in home visiting services, strengthening nurturing parent-child relationships, promoting child growth and development, and enhancing family functioning by building protective factors.
There are several curriculums that are approved by HFA for use by HFA home visiting programs:
- Growing Great Kids (GGK) developed by Great Kids Inc.
- Partners in Parenting Education (PIPE) developed by How to Read Your Baby
- Parents as Teachers (PAT)
- FSU Partners for a Healthy Baby

The Family Spirit (FS) Model

Tribal Governments and the Family Spirit (FS) Program
Family Spirit is a culturally tailored, strengths-based core strategy designed to support young American Indian families. Parents gain knowledge and skills to achieve optimum development across the domains of physical, cognitive, social-emotional, language and self-help. FS goals are to increase parenting skills, address maternal psychosocial risks, prepare children for early school success, ensure well-child visits, link family to community services and promote skills needed across the lifespan.

Parents as Teachers (PaT) Model

Parents as Teachers promotes the optimal early development, learning and health of children by supporting and engaging their parents and caregivers. The model offers a cohesive package of services for families with young children and is framed around four dynamic components: Personal Visits, Group Connections, Child Screenings, and Resource Network.
Program Goals:
- Increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices
- Provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues
- Prevent child abuse and neglect
- Increase children’s school readiness and school success

Family Connects Model

Family Connects International works with communities to plan for the model’s implementation and sustainability. We help establish community networks and train the nurses who will conduct the home visits.
Registered nurses visit the homes of the newborns in their communities, providing health checks for both the infant and the birth mother. The nurse is trained to make a systematic assessment of the family’s strengths, risks and needs, to offer supportive guidance on a wide variety of child and infant health, and to connect families with the additional community resources and services that meet their individual needs. The nurse documents the visit — including the physical assessments and community referrals — and relays the appropriate information to the family’s health-care providers.

Early Head Start Model

Minnesota Head Start Association emphasizes parents as child’s first and most important relationship. Comprehensive, two-generation initiative aimed at enhancing infant and toddler development, strengthening families, and respecting unique development of young children.
Designed for low-income pregnant women and families with children between birth – 3. Most women and families must be at or below the federal poverty level, and a portion of enrollment must be available to certain children with disabilities.

Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) Model

Early Childhood Connect - MECSH Model is a high-quality evidenced based nurse-led structured intervention for families needing extra support. MECSH is a child focused prevention model uniquely embedded within a universal child and family health service system, operating from three underpinning principles:
- A core and adaptation model of local implementation.
- Supporting families to learn the skills to build their capacity and source the resources they need to adapt and self-manage in their parenting journey, and parent effectively despite the difficulties and challenges they face.
- A salutogenic (health creating), rather than pathogenic (illness treating) approach.