Representatives from the Council spent two days last week at the National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting Programs: Connecting Research to Policy and Practice, an interactive forum for home visiting researchers, program leaders, and policy makers concerned about improving home visiting system quality and family outcomes.  The Summit was co-sponsored by Every Child Succeeds, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Pew Charitable Trust Center on the States.  Leaders in Home Visiting programs came together to discuss new research and explore ways to expand Home Visitor programs throughout the country.

What is a Home Visitor? Home Visitors are early childhood professionals who are also skilled in adult education. They work directly with parents and families by going to their homes and helping parents learn how to nurture their children's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth. The Home Visitor CDA is a unique national credential program that assesses professionals' competencies as a Home Visitor. The popularity of Home Visitor programs have increased dramatically over the past few years, as research has demonstrated its effectiveness in outcomes for children.

During the Summit, Sue Bredekamp, representing the Council, presented on the role that the Home Visitor CDA plays in professional development.  Some highlights from the presentation included:

• The CDA has offered a nationally recognized and portable Home Visitor credential for over 20 years.
• The Home Visitor CDA focuses on competency by requiring all Candidates to be observed multiple times by different members of the community, including parents, advisors and Council Representatives.
• The Home Visitor CDA helps ensure that Home Visitor professionals understand key early childhood development principles that they can, in turn, explain to parents.
• In other sessions at the Summit, researchers presented their findings which revealed how effective Home Visitor programs can be in early intervention, particularly in communities where children are at risk of neglect or abuse at home.
• The Council is delighted with the renewed focus that this much-needed program is now receiving from the early childhood community and state and federal agencies. Please click here for more information on the Home Visitor CDA.