Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for Healthy Start Programs

Evidence-based practices include actions, activities, strategies, or approaches that improve the health of women, before, during, and after pregnancy in order to improve birth outcomes and give infants up to age two years a healthy start. Also included in the collection are informational materials and tools that make it easier to implement evidence-based practices. To search by title, use the main search box located at the top of this page.

Most Recently Added EBPs:

Number of results: 74


Mothers and Babies

Mothers and Babies (MB) is a program that promotes healthy mood management by teaching pregnant women and new moms how to effectively respond to stress in their lives through increasing the frequency of thoughts and behaviors that lead to positive mood states. Designed as a perinatal depression prevention, the Mothers and Babies targets three specific risk factors: limited social support, lack of pleasant activities, and harmful thought patterns. Mothers and Babies offers a “toolkit” of approaches for women to observe their mood, note factors affecting their mood, and make changes in their daily lives to impact these areas. Based on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), attachment theory, and psychoeducation, the Mothers and Babies Course is designed to be delivered by clinic- or community-based providers from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, and can be delivered as a group intervention or as a one-on-one intervention in various settings where pregnant women access services (e.g. prenatal clinics, home visiting programs, WIC programs, County Health Departments, etc.).

Topics:

Depression Home Visiting Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Mental Health Parenting Education Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

MotherWoman

MotherWoman promotes the resilience and empowerment of mothers and their communities by building community capacity and advocating for just policies through evidence based research and grassroots organizing. MotherWoman hosts support groups for postpartum women (in MA, CA and NY), provides training for healthcare and social service providers, supports communities in creating coalitions to address the issue of perinatal emotional complications and perinatal mood disorders on the community level, and works to raise awareness about social and economic justice issues and promote policies that positively impact mothers, children and families on the regional and national levels. The MotherWoman Support Group Model is replicable and has been successful with a broad diversity of postpartum mothers in a wide variety of settings. MotherWoman’s commitment to diversity and inclusion allows for diverse mothers to find common ground, inspiration and community with each other.

Topics:

Depression Health Equity Mental Health

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Postpartum Visit

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Boston Basics

The Boston Basics Campaign is inspired by the fact that 80% of brain growth happens in the first three years of life. During this period, skill gaps between socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic groups become clearly apparent, but this does not need to be. Everyday interactions between children, their parents, and other caregivers provide abundant opportunities to give children from every background a more equal start in life. The Basics are five, fun, simple, and powerful ways that every family can give every child a strong start beginning from birth: 1) maximize love, manage stress, 2) talk, sing and point, 3) count, group and compare, 4) explore through movement and play, and 5) read and discuss stories. The Basics Community Toolkit provides multi-media resources that healthcare and community-based organizations can use to engage and support parents and other caregivers in practicing these basics.The Boston Basics website and materials are also available in Spanish.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

ACOG Postpartum Toolkit

Often referred to as “The Fourth Trimester,” the weeks after birth are a critical time for a woman and her infant, setting the stage for long-term health and well-being. This comprehensive toolkit, with an introduction by Dr. Haywood Brown, includes extensive resources on the key components of postpartum care, including support for new mothers, reproductive life planning, infant care, counseling for substance use, long-term weight management, and many more pertinent topics. It also features a sample postpartum checklist for women to complete.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Chronic Disease Depression Healthy Weight Immunization Intimate Partner Violence Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Safe Sleep Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Postpartum Visit Reproductive Life Plan Safe Sleep Smoking Abstinence Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

ACOG Committee Opinion on Optimizing Postpartum Care

Because one half of all pregnancy-related maternal deaths occur postpartum, the weeks following childbirth are a critical period for a woman and her infant. In addition, health issues that arise in pregnancy can persist and presage long-term medical problems. In this Committee Opinion, ACOG lays out a new vision for postpartum care, redefining it as an ongoing process beginning within the first 3 weeks postpartum and tailored to a woman’s needs. The document includes practical advice on postpartum care as well as useful charts including a Timeline for Postpartum Care, a listing of The Components of Postpartum Care, and a table identifying Members of the Postpartum Care Team.

Topics:

Breastfeeding Chronic Disease Depression Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Birth Spacing Initiating Breastfeeding Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Postpartum Visit Reproductive Life Plan Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit: Resources from the Field

This toolkit presents a compilation of resources that highlight the challenges and key issues associated with launching and sustaining a successful fatherhood program. It covers topics such as: building an effective fatherhood program,effectively engaging fathers, cultivating community partners, recruiting and training staff, serving fathers with specific barriers, and promoting sustainability. The toolkit provides tips and suggestions from experienced practitioners, activities for use with fathers in one-to-one or group sessions, tools from model programs to use and share with fathers, and other helpful resources.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Fathering in 15

Fathering in 15™ is an interactive, online tool that helps organizations build the skills of fathers anytime, anywhere. Fathering in 15™ takes fathers through 15 interactive, engaging topics, each in 15 minutes. It is accessible on any computer or mobile device, and can be used a stand-alone, self-paced resource or to complement an existing group-based fatherhood program. Each topic follows the same framework using text written at 5th-6th grade reading level, along with short videos and interactive graphics to engage fathers in learning.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Rural Behavioral Health: Telehealth Challenges and Opportunities

This brief looks at common acceptability, availability, and accessibility barriers to mental and substance use disorder (behavioral health) treatment and services in rural communities and presents ways telehealth can help surmount some of these barriers. The term telehealth refers to using internet and communications technologies, such as videoconferencing, chat, and text messaging, to provide health information and treatments in real time.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies and Practices

This technical package represents a select group of evidence-based strategies and approaches to help programs, communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and its consequences across the lifespan. These strategies include teaching safe and healthy relationship skills; engaging influential adults and peers; disrupting the developmental pathways toward IPV; creating protective environments; strengthening economic supports for families; and supporting survivors to increase safety and lessen harms. Commitment, cooperation, and leadership from numerous sectors, including public health, education, justice, health care, social services, business and labor, and government can bring about the successful implementation of this package.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Life Course Model Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Pregnancy & Opioids: What families need to know about opioid misuse and treatment during pregnancy

This guide provides information and resources for family members and friends on specific ways to support pregnant women with opioid use disorders, and help them to get the prenatal care, substance use treatment and other supports they need during pregnancy and postpartum.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Usual Source of Care

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

The Good Road of Life

This culture-based program uses sources of strength such as spirituality, humor, and healing to assist Native men and their family members address the impact of colonization, trauma, racism and other challenges that threaten the well-being of children and families. The curriculum for Native men is designed to assist Native men reclaim their roles as brave warriors, fathers, and husbands who provide for and protect their families and communities. The curriculum for Native families is designed to assist Native men, women, and their children to address unresolved conflicts in relationships, improve communication skills, and keep Native families together.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Depression Intimate Partner Violence Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

24/7 Dad® To-Go App

The mobile version of the 24/7 Dad® lets dads install a checklist on their smartphones to use on an ongoing basis. The app provides a place where dads can customize time-sensitive checklists of to-do items related to involved, responsible fatherhood and helps them take action steps daily, weekly, and monthly to be active in their children’s lives. The app also includes links to information on the National Fatherhood Initiatives’ NFI’s website keeping dads connected to the latest practical advice and guidance on how to be a 24/7 Dad.  Note: Scroll to the bottom of the page to find links to access the app.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

2018 Prevention Resource Guide

This prevention resource guide offers information, strategies, and resources to support community service providers as they work with parents, caregivers, and children to prevent child maltreatment and promote social and emotional well-being. The guide focuses on protective factors that build on family strengths and promote optimal child and youth development. Information about protective factors is augmented with tools and strategies that help providers, advocates and policymakers integrate the factors into community programs and systems. The guide includes tip sheets for parents in English and Spanish on a range of parenting and child development topics.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Life Course Model Parenting Education Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Promundo: Program P: A Manual for Engaging Men in Fatherhood, Caregiving, and Maternal and Child Health

Program P is a resource developed as part of the global MenCare campaign coordinated by Promundo and the Sonke Gender Justice Network. The manual outlines concrete strategies for engaging men in active caregiving from their partner’s pregnancy through their child’s early years, and preventing violence against women and children. It includes tools to aid in creating open spaces for men in the clinic setting, detailed guidance on providing gender-transformative group education for men, and advice on encouraging community mobilization around fatherhood, child protection, maternal and child health and gender equality. It is available in 5 languages.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Bringing Fathers In Fact Sheets

This set of 9 fact sheets for programs that serve families makes the case and provides implementation tips for fully and effectively engaging fathers. The fact sheets describe the importance of involved fathers for improving maternal and child health outcomes, supporting children’s early learning and reducing family and community violence. They also provide best practice do’s and don’ts, tips for attracting fathers to programs, and father-inclusive evaluation strategies.

Topics:

Participant Recruitment and Retention Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Changing Systems & Practice to Improve Outcomes for Young Fathers, Their Children & Their Families

This policy report highlights the need to support young fathers by providing recommendations for child welfare system policy and practice change. Research shows that the relationship between fathers and their children is essential to the well-being of families and the healthy development of children, however little attention is paid to the importance of engaging young fathers under age 26, particularly young fathers who are involved with child welfare systems. This report provides recommendations on how systems can better focus on father involvement to increase positive outcomes for fathers, their children and families.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Participant Recruitment and Retention Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

IPV Health Partners Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help health centers to build a comprehensive and sustainable response to domestic violence and sexual assault (DV/SA) in partnership with DV/SA advocacy programs (social service organizations).Through five essential steps, health centers and social service partners can build partnerships, adopt evidence-based interventions, promote patient education around IPV, and enhance practice policies, procedures, and capacities to improve long-term health and safety outcomes for women and their families.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Intimate Partner Violence Patient-centered Medical Home Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Safe Homes, Safe Babies: Perinatal Safety Card

Safe Homes, Safe Babies is a safety card for women that perinatal health care providers can distribute to patients. In addition to providing safety resources for women, this tool also functions as a prompt for perinatal health care providers by providing quick phrases to improve discussions with women about the impact of domestic violence on their parenting and children. The safety card outlines questions women may ask themselves about their relationships, birth control use and parenting, while offering supportive messages and referrals to national support services for help.

Topics:

Depression Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

WINGS (Women Initiating New Goals of Safety)

Failure to address IPV among women who use alcohol or other drugs has been found to increase the likelihood of continued drug use, relapse, attrition from drug treatment and a host of other negative physical and mental health consequences. WINGS is a single-session intervention that aims to address a critical gap in IPV services for women by identifying women in the community at risk of IPV, enabling them to develop social support and safety planning skills to reduce their risks for IPV and linking them to IPV-related services and substance use treatment. The intervention may be delivered in-person or via a computerized self-paced version.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Intimate Partner Violence

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Thinking Healthy: A manual for psychosocial management of perinatal depression

This manual is designed for training community health workers on how to support expecting and new mothers with depression, using evidence-based cognitive behavioral techniques. Community Health Workers can assist depressed mothers to change their unhealthy patterns of thinking and behavior, leading to an improvement in their mood and functioning, and prevention of later problems in their infants. The manual provides a step-by-step guide for CHWs implementing the Thinking Healthy intervention in 15 sessions with mothers (from pregnancy through baby’s first 10 months), and includes a structured process for each session, activities, worksheets and charts, and communication tips. This manual is a generic version for global use of a manual originally developed in Pakistan and later used in many other countries.

Topics:

Depression Parenting Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Family Spirit

Family Spirit is an evidence-based early childhood home-visiting program designed for and by American Indian communities. Family Spirit combines the use of paraprofessionals from the community as home visitors and a culturally focused, strengths-based curriculum as a core strategy to support young families. From pregnancy through the child’s 3rd birthday, parents gain knowledge and skills to promote healthy development and positive lifestyles for themselves and their children. Family Spirit addresses intergenerational behavioral health problems, optimizes local cultural assets, and overcomes deficits in the professional health care workforce in low resource communities. Evidence from three randomized controlled trials has documented important results including: increased parenting knowledge and involvement; decreased maternal depression; increased home safety; decreased emotional and behavioral problems of mothers; and decreased emotional and behavioral problems of children. The Family Spirit curriculum modules cover: Prenatal Care, Infant Care, Your Growing Child, Toddler Care, My Family and Me, and Healthy Living.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Home Visiting Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Reproductive Life Plan Safe Sleep Smoking Abstinence Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that gives people the skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it does build mental health literacy, helping the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness. Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support. The “adult course” is available in both English and Spanish, and covers anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addictions in adults. The “youth course” is for adults who interact regularly with young people ages 12-18.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Positive Parenting Tips

This component of the Child Development section of the CDC website provides information for parents on developmental milestones and positive parenting tips by age group, covering children 0-17 years of age. Age-specific injury prevention and safety advice as well as guidelines for promoting healthy bodies are also given. Parents or service providers for parents can download Positive Parenting Tip Sheets for use as take-home handouts.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

4Ps Plus©

4Ps Plus© is the first validated instrument that has been developed to screen for alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use; depression; and domestic violence, specifically in pregnant women. In addition, brief intervention strategies, grounded in motivational interviewing techniques, are integrated into the screening process. “I am concerned…” is an interactive, multisensory psychoeducational approach that takes about five minutes and is administered to all women who are found through the screening process to be using alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Depression Intimate Partner Violence Prenatal Care and Education Risk Assessment Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Screening Smoking Abstinence

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Strong Families/Healthy Relationships Resources

This section of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse provides resources on healthy relationships for programs that serve families. Healthy marriages and healthy relationships can serve an important role in promoting responsible fatherhood initiatives. Whether the fathers and families in your programs are currently married or not, integrating healthy relationship skills into your programs can better support fathers’ relationships with their partners and improve their co-parenting situations, leading to healthier models and environments for their children.

Topics:

Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Baby Basics

Baby Basics is a set of materials (book, planner, posters) and programs designed specifically to provide lower-income and lower-literacy populations with crucial prenatal health information and support. The materials are designed to be beautiful and easy to read, serving as a catalyst for learning and family literacy. Both materials and programs strive to engage and educate underserved parents to become effective users of the healthcare system and advocate for themselves and their families.

Topics:

Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Birth Spacing Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Postpartum Visit Safe Sleep Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Common Sense Parenting

Common Sense Parenting® (CSP) is a multi-session series for parents that provides logical strategies and easy-to-learn techniques to address issues of communication, discipline, decision making, relationships, self control, and school success for families in all situations. These classes incorporate research-proven child-care methods that are derived from the Boys Town Treatment Family Homes program and adapted for use in the home by parents. The program was originally designed for parents of children ages 6 to 16, but an adaptation for parents of toddlers and preschoolers also is available, along with a supplemental class on parenting children with ADHD.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Wise Guys

WISE GUYS: THE NEXT LEVEL is a flexible 5 to 12 week program that specifically targets men age 18 and older. Special topics that are addressed include stress and anger management; cohabitation and marriage; alcohol and other drugs; and an expanded fatherhood curriculum that provides information and resources for fathers from RAD (the Responsible and Active Dads program). The great information from the original Wise Guys program is also included in such a way as to suit its older audience.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Parenting Education Partner Involvement Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning STDs including HIV

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

The Nurturing Fathers Program

The Nurturing Fathers Program is an evidence-based, 13-week group-based program designed to teach parenting and nurturing skills to men. The Nurturing Fathers Program is an adaptation of the Nurturing Program philosophy and lessons are designed and implemented specifically for dads.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based non-profit organization of medical providers who promote early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by integrating children’s books and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud into well-child visits. Reach Out and Read builds on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning in infancy.

Topics:

Other Parenting Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Mom as Gateway

Mom as Gateway is a workshop designed to address what is known as Maternal Gatekeeping – when a mother’s beliefs about a father, as well as her behaviors, hinder a father’s involvement with his children. Moms attend three 1-hour workshops that emphasize the importance of paternal involvement and aim to facilitate co-parenting by breaking down barriers between mothers and fathers.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

InsideOut Dad

InsideOut Dad is an evidence-based fatherhood program designed specifically for incarcerated fathers. It aims to help these men improve their parenting skills and develop stronger relationships with their children while in prison and after release. The program consists of twelve 2-hour core sessions delivered weekly to groups of up to 12 fathers.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Boot Camp for New Dads

Boot Camp is a father-to-father community-based workshop that aims to inspire and equip men to become confidently engaged with their infants, support their mates, and personally navigate their transformation into dads. The nonprofit has been named a best practice by many organizations and, having graduated over 325,000 men, is by far the nation’s largest program for new fathers.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Resilience Video Series

These three brief (2-3 minute) videos explore resilience, a positive adaptive response to serious adversity in a young child’s life, and how it is built. A better understanding of how resilience develops can help develop policies and programs to help more children reach their full potential.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Zero to Three: The Magic of Everyday Moments Video Series

The Magic of Everyday Moments video series is designed to help parents and professionals understand how they can best help very young children thrive. The first in the series explores brain development, early literacy skills, the power of play, and temperament. The second examines development in each of the first three years of life.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Depression in Mothers: More Than the Blues (A Toolkit for Family Service Providers)

This toolkit equips community-based providers with information and strategies for use in working with mothers who may be depressed. Includes background information and facts about depression; screening tools for more serious depression; and referrals, resources, and handouts for mothers who are depressed.

Topics:

Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Family Foundations for a Strong Start

The Family Foundations program has been shown in NIH-funded research to help couples create strong, nurturing family bonds and raise well-adjusted children. Developed by clinical psychologist, family therapist, and prevention scientist Mark Feinberg, Ph.D. DVDs and workbooks help parents learn how to work together as an effective team to promote children’s sleep, self-regulation, attention, social competence, and well-being. Topic areas addressed in the program include: preparing for parenthood; working as a team; managing conflict; division of labor; planning fun and affection; and teaching and discipline. Includes 6 DVDs, with nearly 6 hours of content broken into 11 chapters, and a detailed workbook for each parent.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Growing Great Kids: Prenatal to 36 Months Curriculum

Growing Great Kids (GGK) is a comprehensive and skills-focused home visiting curriculum that takes a strength-based approach to growing nurturing parent-child relationships and supporting healthy childhood development. GGK modules are specifically designed to build protective factors for children, strengthen family foundations, and cultivate parental resilience. Training for home visitors to be certified to deliver the curriculum builds their competencies for: nurturing parental resiliency; advancing individual and family functioning; reducing a child’s exposure to toxic stress; nurturing parents’ problem-solving skills; strengthening the families’ support networks; and enabling parents to construct protective buffers around their children.

Topics:

Home Visiting Parenting Education Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Partners for a Healthy Baby

Nationally recognized, research-based, practice-informed curriculum used by many home visiting models to meet their program goals including improving birth outcomes, reducing rates of child abuse, strengthening families, enhancing child health and developmental outcomes, and promoting family stability and economic self-sufficiency. The curriculum addresses issues of child health and development within the context of the multifaceted needs of expectant and parenting families. Five-volume book series for different stages in pregnancy/parenthood, accompanied by a set of handouts for the home visitor to use when planning visits. Handouts for families can be purchased in English or Spanish and help the home visitor introduce subjects that may otherwise be difficult to talk about.

Topics:

Father/Partner Involvement Home Visiting Parenting Education

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Reading to Child Daily Safe Sleep Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

24/7 Dad

24/7 Dad® is a comprehensive fatherhood program available with innovative tools, strategies, and exercises for fathers of all races, religions, cultures, and backgrounds. Developed by fathering and parenting experts, it focuses on the characteristics men need to be good fathers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  24/7 Dad® focuses on key fathering characteristics like masculinity, discipline, and work-family balance – and helps men evaluate their parenting skills. The 24/7 Dad® curriculum was developed using a theoretical framework which is a combination of several theories (a multi-theory framework) that includes Social Learning Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Attachment Theory, Transtheoretical Model (also known as Stages of Change)

Topics:

Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Period of PURPLE Crying Program

The Period of PURPLE Crying program consists of a video and booklet that help new parents understand and safely cope with infant crying, the most common trigger for shaken baby syndrome. The materials describe normal infant crying, explain the easy-to-remember acronym PURPLE (with each letter standing for various features of infant crying), suggest strategies for comforting a baby, acknowledge caregiver frustration when a baby cannot be soothed, explain the dangers of shaking the infant, and outline a positive approach for handling an inconsolable infant. Labor and delivery or discharge nurses distribute these materials to new parents prior to hospital discharge. Pediatricians, public health workers, adoption agencies, and other organizations may also distribute these materials or reinforce their messages, which may be complemented by a public education campaign. There is also a website for parents.

Topics:

Parenting Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Triple-P Positive Parenting Program

The Triple P–Positive Parenting Program is a multilevel system or suite of parenting and family support strategies for families with children from birth to age 12, with extensions to families with teenagers ages 13 to 16. Developed for use with families from many cultural groups, Triple P is designed to prevent social, emotional, behavioral, and developmental problems in children by enhancing their parents’ knowledge, skills, and confidence. The program, which also can be used for early intervention and treatment, is founded on social learning theory and draws on cognitive, developmental, and public health theories. Triple P has five intervention levels of increasing intensity to meet each family’s specific needs.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)

STEP provides skills training for parents dealing with frequently encountered challenges with their children that often result from autocratic parenting styles. STEP is presented in a group format, with optimal group size of 6 – 14 parents. The program is typically taught in 8 or 9 weekly, 1.5-hour study groups facilitated by a counselor, social worker, or individual who has participated in a STEP workshop. Parents engage in role-plays, exercises, discussions of hypothetical parenting situations, and the sharing of personal experiences.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Strengthening Families

Strengthening Families is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. It is a systems development approach based on engaging families, programs and communities in building five protective factors: parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support in times of need, social and emotional competence of children. Supported by helpful material that can be adopted and adapted for any program or service sector, including a program self-assessment to improve practice, an online data system, an online training curriculum, and the Strengthening Families national network.

Topics:

Other Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

STAR Parenting

STAR Parenting provides parents with tools and information they need to raise their children to be adults they admire. STAR Parenting provides parents (and anyone who works with children) with a problem-solving process, 5 general strategies, and 15 practical tools. STAR Parenting offers in-person and online training, and a STAR parenting community forum.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

The Nurturing Parent Programs

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are a family-centered trauma-informed initiative designed to build nurturing parenting skills as an alternative to abusive and neglecting parenting and child-rearing practices. The long term goals are to prevent recidivism in families receiving social services, lower the rate of teenage pregnancies, reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency and alcohol abuse, and stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors.

Lessons can be delivered in home setting, group setting, or combination. Nurturing Parents offer targeted programs for prenatal families, parents of babies and toddlers, parents of older children, Spanish speaking parents, parents of children with health challenges, teen parents, military parents, parents in substance abuse treatment and recovery, and more.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Legacy for Children

Legacy for Children is primarily a group-based intervention approach, featuring regular group meetings of mothers, that include mother-only time and mother–child time. The meetings provide mothers with an opportunity to develop and explore goals for their children with other mothers in similar circumstances. Intervention specialists assist mothers in identifying and practicing ways to help their children realize those goals. The group sessions encourage exploration and trying out a variety of ideas and practices that have been associated with positive outcomes, allowing mothers to decide what is right for themselves and their children. Legacy also includes one-on-one sessions with mothers.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

The Incredible Years

The Incredible Years (IY) Series is a set of interlocking and comprehensive training programs for parents, teachers and children. There are four basic parenting programs that target key developmental stages: IY Baby Program (0-8 months); IY Toddler Basic Program (1-3 years); IY Preschool Basic (3-6 years); IY School Age Basic (6-12 years) plus three adjunct parent programs focusing on cross-cutting issues. IY program goals include: Improved parent-child interactions, improved parental functioning, increased parental social support and problem solving, prevention and treatment of early onset conduct behaviors and emotional problems in children, and promotion of child social competence, emotional regulation, academic readiness and problem solving. For children over age 3, there are two child programs and one Incredible Teacher Classroom Management Program for teachers of children ages 3-8 .

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Effective Black Parenting Program

CICC’s Effective Black Parenting Program (EBPP) is the country’s first culturally-adapted parenting skill-building program for parents of African American children. EBPP consists of 14 3-hour training sessions and a graduation ceremony. The program contains culturally-specific parenting strategies, general parenting strategies, basic parenting skills taught in a culturally-sensitive manner, using African American language expressions and African proverbs, and special program topics such as single parenting and preventing drug abuse. Targets families with children 0-18.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

SafeCare Augmented

SafeCare aims to prevent and address factors associated with child abuse and neglect. Eligible clients include families with a history of child maltreatment or families at risk for child maltreatment. SafeCare provides 18 to 22 weeks of training to parents with children from birth to age 5. During weekly or biweekly home visits, trained home visitors conduct baseline and follow-up assessments, observations, and trainings with parents. Trainings focus on three modules: 1) infant and child health, 2) home safety, and 3) parent-child interactions. SafeCare Augmented adds motivational interviewing and additional training of home visitors on identification and response to imminent child maltreatment and risk factors, such as substance abuse and depression. SafeCare Augmented was adapted for high-risk, rural communities. Only SafeCare Augmented is considered an evidence-based practice by HomVEE.

Topics:

Home Visiting Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Play and Learn Strategies (PALS)

The PALS curriculum was developed to facilitate parents’ mastery of specific skills for interacting with their infants and toddlers that lead to better child outcomes, particularly in children from high-risk families. PALS was designed as a preventive intervention program to strengthen the parent-child bond and stimulate early language, cognitive, and social development. The PALS Infant curriculum consists of 10 sessions and is appropriate for parents of infants from about age five months to one year. The PALS Toddler curriculum consists of 12 sessions and is appropriate for parents of toddlers from about age 18 months to 3 years.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Parents as Teachers (PAT)

PAT aims to 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, and increase children’s school readiness and school success. The PAT model consists of one-on-one home visits, group connections/meetings, health and developmental screenings for children, and a resource network for parents. Program lasts for at least two years, beginning as early as pregnancy and ending at the child’s 3rd birthday or at kindergarten entry.

Topics:

Home Visiting Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Reading to Child Daily Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Child FIRST

Child FIRST aims to decrease the incidence of abuse and neglect, developmental and learning problems, and emotional and behavioral disturbance among high-risk children and families. Provides home visiting services to pregnant women and families with children up to 6 years old. Includes a comprehensive assessment of child and family needs, parent-child mental health intervention, observation and consultation in early care and education, development of a child and family plan of care, and care coordination and case management.

Topics:

Home Visiting Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Temperament and Atypical Behavior Scale (TABS)

The TABS Screener is a 15 item checklist completed by parents to identify children who should receive more thorough assessment for developmental items related to temperament and self-regulation. If a child’s score indicates a potential problem, the more extensive TABS assessment tool can be used. For use with children ages 11 to 71 months, TABS can be used for screening, research, determining eligibility for services, planning programs, and monitoring child progress and program effectiveness.

Topics:

Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Learn the Signs, Act Early

: Learn the Signs, Act Early aims to improve early identification of children with autism and other developmental disabilities so children and families can get needed services and support. The program has three components: a health education campaign, the Act Early initiative, and research and evaluation. The campaign promotes awareness of healthy developmental milestones during childhood, and the importance of tracking each child’s development and acting early if there are concerns. The Act Early Initiative works with state, territorial and national partners to improve early childhood screening and referral systems. The program website includes many free materials for providers, health centers and parents, videos and other multimedia tools and training programs for providers.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Greenspan Social-Emotional Growth Chart

The Greenspan Social-Emotional Growth Chart measures social-emotional milestones in young children ages 0 to 42 months. It is a questionnaire completed by the child’s parent or other caregiver to understand how the child uses all capacities to meet needs, deal with feelings, think, and communicate. Used to determine whether further assessment or referral is warranted and can assist in monitoring growth and planning intervention.

Topics:

Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Socio-Emotional (ASQ:SE)

ASQ:SE is a screening tool that identifies infants and young children whose social and emotional development requires further evaluation to determine if referral for intervention services is necessary. ASQ:SE was developed to help home visiting, early intervention, Early Head Start, Head Start, child welfare agencies, and other early childhood programs accurately screen infants and young children determine who would benefit from an in-depth evaluation in the area of social-emotional development. Parents fill out easy to score questionnaires specific to their child’s age. Used for children 3-66 months.

Topics:

Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

HUG Your Baby (Help, Understanding, Guidance for Young Families)

Uses child development principles to boost parent confidence, facilitate parent-child bonding, and promote breastfeeding duration. HUG has been implemented in many countries and can been integrated into nursing programs, hospitals, home visitation programs, prenatal clinics, etc. Materials include DVDs, e-newsletters, blogs, music video songs, social media, posters, and online courses. Also includes The Roadmap to Breastfeeding Success, an additional lactation online course that integrates best practices in lactation support with child development theory.

Topics:

Breastfeeding Parenting Education

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Fathers Supporting Breastfeeding

The Fathers Supporting Breastfeeding program was created by the USDA and uses a video, poster, and brochures to reach African American fathers, so that they may positively influence their partners’ decision to breastfeed. The campaign is part of national efforts to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration rates among African American women. Project materials can also be used with men in other racial and ethnic groups.

Topics:

Breastfeeding

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS)

The PDSS is a 35-item self-report instrument that can be administered in 5-10 minutes. Identifies women who are at high risk for postpartum depression so that they can be referred for definitive diagnosis and treatment. Written at a third grade reading level.

Topics:

Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was developed to screen postpartum women for depression in an outpatient setting. It is a 10 question screen that takes about 3-5 minutes to complete, and is easy to score. The EPDS asks the patient how she has been feeling over the last seven days. It has been validated for use during both pregnancy and the post-partum period. It has been translated into 23 languages.

Topics:

Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

PASOs

“PASOs (or “steps” in Spanish) aims to improve health of Latino families in South Carolina by educating Latino parents and caregivers on issues related to healthy pregnancies and prenatal care, as well as appropriate child development and resources for child health, and by advocating for better, more accessible services for Latinos. PASOs provides a free, comprehensive 14-hour prenatal empowerment course, community health outreach and individual interventions to Latino families, and consultative services for maternal and child health providers and policymakers throughout South Carolina.

Topics:

Parenting Education Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Reading to Child Daily Reproductive Life Plan Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Child Visits Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Text4Baby

Text4baby is a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging. Lasts through pregnancy until baby’s first birthday. The messages address topics such as prenatal care, labor signs and symptoms, urgent alerts, breastfeeding, nutrition, exercise, oral health, immunizations, birth defect prevention, developmental milestones, safe sleep, family violence, injury prevention, mental health, substance abuse, car seat safety, and more.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Intimate Partner Violence Nutrition Parenting Education Safe Sleep

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Follow Up Safe Sleep Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Health Cares About IPV

This toolkit for providers offered by Futures without Violence® includes assessment tools for screening women for IPV in a clinical setting, and information on supported referral and counseling. Accompanying materials available for purchase include promotional materials for healthcare settings, and the publication Addressing Intimate Partner Violence, Reproductive and Sexual Coercion: A Guide for Obstetric, Gynecologic and Reproductive Health Care Settings.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Prenatal Plus Program

Prenatal Plus is a program that provides care coordination, nutrition and mental health counseling to Medicaid-eligible pregnant women in Colorado who are at a high risk for delivering low birth weight infants. The program uses the client-centered counseling approach with all participants to address a variety of issues that have been shown to have a negative impact on birth outcomes. The key health areas targeted by this program are healthy weight, smoking cessation and depression. The program has been demonstrated to decrease the rate of low-birth weight infants and resolve the risks putting women at risk of delivering low-birth weight infants.

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Depression Healthy Weight Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Living Smart, Living Fit

Intervention program that provides comprehensive care to low-income pregnant and postpartum women with high BMI and depressive symptoms. Links patients to clinical care coordinators trained in motivational interviewing who promotes participation in a portfolio of mental and physical wellness activities.

Topics:

Depression Healthy Weight

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Prenatal and Postpartum Behavioral Counseling

An in-person and telephone-based counseling program for pregnant African-American women with the goal of reducing behavior-related risk factors during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. In addition to receiving standard prenatal care, pregnant women attend an average of four behavioral counseling sessions during pregnancy and one session after giving birth. The intervention significantly reduced health risks from baseline to 10 weeks postpartum. Early results from a study evaluating the program’s impact on birth weight and infant mortality are encouraging.

Topics:

Depression Intimate Partner Violence Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Smoking Abstinence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

CDC’s Information for Men on Preconception Health and Health Care

Men’s portion of the CDC’s information on preconception health and health care. Includes information on making a reproductive life plan for men, preventing and treating sexually transmitted diseases, tobacco and drug cessation, infertility, maintaining a healthy weight, learning about family history, getting help for violence, getting mentally healthy, and supporting one’s partner.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Chronic Disease Depression Healthy Weight Intimate Partner Violence Partner Involvement Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning STDs including HIV Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence Reproductive Life Plan

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

Nine item questionnaire for patients to measure depressive symptoms over the past two weeks. Questions are linked to the DSM-IV depression criteria, and therefore scores can be used to track changes in depression as a response to treatment. Included on the Healthy Start National Evaluation Program Survey

Topics:

Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised CESD-R

The CESD-R is a screening test for depression and depressive disorder. The CESD-R measures symptoms defined by the American Psychiatric Association’ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) for a major depressive episode. The scale is well known and remains as one of the most widely used instruments in the field.

Topics:

Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

BDI-FastScreen

The BDI-FastScreen is a 7-item self-reporting instrument used to quickly screen for depression in adolescents and adults. The screen can identify depression while excluding symptoms that might be related to medical problems, and was specifically designed for evaluating depression in patients whose behavioral and somatic symptoms attributable to biological, medical, alcohol and/or substance abuse problems may confound diagnosis.

Topics:

Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.