TRUSTED HANDS AT HOME: The Benefits of Family Support Program Home Visits

Whether you’re a first-time parent, or you have several young children, parenting a young child in the early years is chalk full of new challenges. While being a parent can certainly be very rewarding, it also naturally comes with questions, new changes and daily growth for both child and parents. If you’re a parent of young children in southwest Iowa, we want you to know — you’re not alone.

Through the Child and Family Resource Network, southwest Iowa families expecting a child or with children under the age of five can receive caring support from trained Family Support Specialists. Many of our programs offer support through personalized home visits. These visits — modeled from evidence-based programs like Parents as Teachers and Healthy Families America — are designed to empower parents by sharing knowledge, tools, and encouragement for giving their children the best start possible. 

Angela, a pregnant Iowa mom of five, said that staying positive and confident about her parenting skills can sometimes be challenging with her growing family. Her Family Support Specialist, Amy, is not only great at listening, she is reassuring and helps her practice healthy ways to parent.

“With Amy’s help over the years, I’ve been able to become a better mom, a better sister, and a better friend,” Angela says. 

Wondering if, and how, these home visiting programs could benefit your family?

Here are several key benefits that make home visiting programs a valuable resource for the families in our communities.

1) Support Tailored to Your Family’s Specific Needs

Every family is unique — including yours! Likewise, so is every home visit through our network programs. Family Support Specialists are specially trained to work with you one-on-one in the comfort of your home (or another location, if you prefer.) Typically, a Family Support Specialist is assigned to your family and listens, gets to know you and helps with your specific family challenges.

Whether you have one child or multiple, these specialists offer you personalized support. From understanding early childhood child development milestones to working through behavioral challenges, Family Support Specialists coordinate each visit to help you with your specific questions, goals and concerns. No pressure. No judgment. Just real and useful help.

2) Focusing on Your Child’s Development — Together

One of the big focus points for family support programs, and home visitors, is monitoring and encouraging healthy child development. During home visits, Family Support Specialists use well-researched tools and assessments to measure a child’s physical, emotional, social and cognitive development.

These assessments don’t just help discover developmental delays early, which is important to getting the extra help or support they may need, it also teaches parents what’s typical for a child at each age and stage. Parents learn what to expect at various ages, how to encourage their child to learn and practice new skills for growth, and what to do if something doesn’t seem quite right. Early detection of delays can help with finding extra support, giving the child the best chance to thrive long term.

3) Building Stronger Parent-Child Relationships

While ensuring your child is growing and learning well is important, so is creating loving and caring connections with them. Through home visits, Family Support Specialists also demonstrate ways to help parents build deeper, more attentive relationships with their young children. Specialists can help you explore ways to help your child’s emotional development along, practice positive discipline methods, and better understand how to understand a young child’s needs.

This knowledge is especially helpful during more challenging moments when you may question yourself and are unsure of how to respond. Instead of reacting with frustration, parents who participate in family support programs often report feeling more confident and ready to respond with the calm, consistent care they learn from their trusted home visitor.

4) Reliable, Judgment-Free Parenting Guidance 

The truth is — parenting can feel very overwhelming, and social media or information found online isn’t always reliable. Family Support Specialists are trained with well-researched parenting methods and experience, and their focus is on helping your family succeed.

Most importantly, Family Support Specialists are there to support you, not to judge. Many of them are also parents, and all of them have worked with a variety of different families. They are not evaluating your home, your parenting style, or your life choices. Their purpose is to walk alongside you to offer practical advice and encouragement as you work through all of the ups and downs of raising young children.

5) Connecting Families with Local Resources and Community Support

Sometimes, a family is challenged by more than what’s happening inside their home. You might need help finding affordable childcare, managing job stress, accessing healthcare services, or even finding ways to put food on your table. Family Support Specialists also help families work through bigger needs like these and others. Our network of programs are connected to many community resources across Southwest Iowa. When a family can benefit from additional support services — like mental health or physical therapy, early childhood intervention, parenting classes, or financial assistance — home visitors may be able to help connect you to available support quickly and confidentially.

6) Promoting Confidence and Resilience in Parents

Research has shown that parents who participate in home visiting programs often report feeling more confident and less alone. That’s because having someone you can rely on and trust, and who listens, understands, and offers encouragement, can make a world of difference in your own confidence.

Over time, families that receive regular support from Family Support Specialists through home visits tend to feel more prepared to handle parenting challenges and more confident in helping their child address specific needs. Family support programs exist to help the entire family grow in healthy ways — parents and children alike.

Why Child and Family Resource Network Matters for Southwest Iowa Families

As a single point of entry for getting services from a variety of family support programs, Child and Family Resource Network is proud to support families across nine southwest Iowa counties. At a time when parents can feel alone and worried, our home visiting specialists offer ways to connect, learn, and grow — close to home.

Whether you are parenting alone or with a partner, we are here to offer support and encouragement. Learn more about who we are and how we can help you find free support for raising healthy, happy kids!