Blog Reopened for Business!

Additional Funding available for home visiting in Texas, for the following counties:

Bell (Temple, Killeen, Belton area)

Brazoria (N of Houston - Alvin, Angleton, Brazosport, Pearland, Sweeny, Danbury, Damon)

Collin (NTX - of McKinney, Frisco, Plano)

Denton

Fort Bend (SW of Houston – Sugarland, Richmond, Katy)

Harris (Houston)

Hays (San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Wimberly)

Lubbock

Montgomery (Conroe, Tomball, Montgomery, Magnolia, New Caney Splendora Willis ISDs)

Smith (Tyler, Lindale)

Starr (Rio Grande City, Escobares, La Grulla, Roma)

Tarrant (Fort Worth area)

Taylor (Abilene area)

Williamson (Georgetown, Roundrock)

Proposal due January 29, 2015 at 2pm. Full information on this LINK. 

HIPPY is one of four home visiting models to be selected for implementation by each commmunity. For information about HIPPY contact:

carla.mowell@unt.edu 940-565-2269

July 12, 2012 HIPPY Call Notes

Intake Forms:

• Are not ready yet (so sorry!) and won't be final until HHSC finalizes the Benchmarks - as of today's posting they are still being edited. Since the forms gather Benchmark data, we cannot finalize the forms until these are finished.
• ETO - once you have your home instructors on board - please provide natha.jolly@hippyusa.org with their names and email addresses, so she can add them to the ETO online system.
• National Trainers - Texas is fortunate to have gained two more trainer interns - Adriana Trevino (one of our MIECHV own) as well as Olayinka (Yinka) Ojo of Irving HIPPY. Additional trainers include Carla Mowell, Keshia Bruno and Sylvia Bougacha. 

Testing:

• Please purchase your ASQ and ASQ SE kits and forms as soon as possible to fit within this year's budget. We have funds available to make this purchase too, let us know if you need assistance. 
• Protective Factors Survey - we are waiting on the UNT Computing Center to make updates to the PFS so it is a scannable form. Unlike ASQ & ASQ-SE, this test (PFS) is pre and post, so it's very important that pretesting be done before home visits begin with week 1. Once the form is ready it will be put on the blog. If you need it before then, please contact Amber.Ellison@unt.edu
• Carla is working on a timeline for intake and testing, this won't be done for at least another week because we are waiting to adapt the timeline that HHSC provides (Mary Riggs). 

Recruitment:

• Questions came up regarding recruitment - should each model be recruiting for themselves or is the central recruiting system in charge of recruitment?
• Answer - each community is doing things a little differently. The community ultimately decides on how to handle it. 
• It's important that each model understand each other's requirements and criteria so that families can be recruited and placed accurately. 
• Ultimately, each model is also responsible for filling and maintaining their caseloads. It makes sense to recruit for yourself, but also to keep your eyes open for families for the other program models, and refer to each other, or to the central intake system. 

Call next week will be on July 26 at 11am with the same call in information. Keshia Bruno will be facilitating the call and giving you more information about the required Coordinator Retreat (August) as well as the Kick Off (November).

I will be out for 1 week on vacation - please contact Keshia if you have any questions while I'm out: keshia.bruno@unt.edu. Thanks!

Carla

Attending:

• Lety and two new Home Instructors: Patricia Vasquez and Sabrina Garcia, Corpus
• Adriana, Dallas
• Karen, Amarillo
• Hollis, Longview

June 28, 2012 - HIPPY Conference Call

Our call on June 28th was quite brief - everyone had a chance to check in.

Attending:

• Kacie Bell, Amarillo
• Kathy Siepak, Odessa
• Andina, Lezlie and Karen, Amarillo
• Leti, Corpus Christi

Next call, 7.12.12

Carla Mowell

June 14 Conference Call - HIPPY

Reviewed Benchmarks, one by one!!!! The online draft of Benchmarks is found here:  look at “Attachment 3”.  Here are the issues and major questions that were discussed:

• Carla will be reaching out to the Injury Prevention Center at Parkland Hospital for support and possible partnership regarding training for home visitors, information for parents in prevention of injuries
• Long discussion regarding gathering SS numbers on children - Carla will follow up with Mary at HHSC on this.
• Protective Factors Survey - this will be a required instrument that needs to be done as pre-post. Very important to do the Pre immediately upon enrollment in order to capture the entirety of changes that parent goes through. Carla will upload the document to the blog asap. 
• ASQ and ASQ-SE - sites should order these tests here. It's a developmental screening of children and used to make referrals, not a pre-post so the testing is not time sensitive to enrollment (can be done a few weeks into services)
• Carla will develop a timeline of tasks needing to be completed during the enrollment period.

Our next call is scheduled for June 28 at 11:00 am, call in information remains the same!

Attending:

• Anna, Jacksonville
• Brenda, Odessa
• Rochelle, Rio Grande Valley
• Pati, Rio Grande Valley
• Karen, Amarillo
• Kathy, Odessa
• Adriana, Dallas

Thanks everyone! As always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Carla 

May 31 Conference Call - HIPPY

Attending: 
Rochelle, Easter Seals
Ana Cox, Jacksonville
Brenda Waters, Odessa
Aliceson Pinkerton, Longview
Leti, Corpus Christi
Kathy, Odessa
Kit, Dallas County
Adriana, Dallas County


First of all - apologies for not posting the notes up in a timely way on this call!


During our call, we reviewed each of the Accreditation Standards that HIPPY USA holds all HIPPY programs to. Here are some of the questions and comments that came up:


Q: Do home visitors carry a mixed case load of 3, 4, 5 year olds, or is it preferred for them to specialize in one age? 


A: They carry a mixed case load - this allows us to keep everyone together for training, and to keep the caseloads based on geographic spread and not age. 


Q: Does the 1 hour per home visit include time for documentation / forms? How will this be impacted by the amount of data required by the benchmarks?


A: The bulk of additional documentation requires by the HHSC Benchmarks will be added onto the enrollment and exit of families each year. We have added a few items to the weekly home visit documentation, but not a significant amount. We've also added a mid year check in that may add about 10 minutes to one home visit mid year. 


Sites were asked to share their plans for parent meetings, where they would be held and any special partnerships they have. Here's what folks reported:

• Ana - meetings will be held at the local MHMR building, this is a central location
• Aliceson - meetings will be held at Wellness Point at the beginning, this is their main office
• Leti - meetings will be held in a childcare center that's included in Service Center's network of programs. Also, they are partnering with the local Children's Museum, to host at least one parent meeting there - this has been a very successful parent-child activity in the past.
• Brenda - meetings will be held at the Head Start facility - one that has a Gym so children can be there. 

The group decided that we would like to continue having biweekly calls at least until services begin.

Site visits will begin with Odessa - please give me dates as soon as you can so I can arrange for a trainer to come out. 

Carla

May 17 Conference Call Notes

Attending:

• Rochelle, Rio Grande Valley, Easter Seals
• Kathy Siepak, Ector County UTPB
• Donna Hurley, Nueces
• Mary Lippincott, Gregg County
• Maria Garcia, Amarillo, Coalition of Health Services

Update

• Rochelle – contract signed, waiting for final notification – collecting applications, setting a target date to start interviewing for home visitors
• Kathy – signed contract, waiting for executed contract in the next few days – working on the contract with the GOPB
• Donna Hurley – fiscal agency, executed May 7^th – have sent out MOU to the ESC. Had some questions about the HIPPY USA Contract – this was answered by HUSA.
• Mary Lippincott – not an update, is sitting in to report back

Order of what must happen next for HIPPY to get started in your community:

1. Signed contract with HIPPY USA (between implementing agency and HUSA)
2. Paid fees to HIPPY USA (by implementing agency)
3. Purchase curriculum
4. National Trainer onsite visit – 2.5 days (please contact me with tentative dates asap)

ALL these items need to be in place for home visiting services to begin. 

Somewhere in there you will also need to hire your coordinator and home visitors (before #4 above can happen).

Resources:

• HUSA contract template—in the resources tab, under HIPPY
• Dates of the next phone calls, all at 11am – May 31, June 14, June 28

Dial-in Access Number: 1-218-862-1300 
Conference Code: 757141  

May 3 Conference Call

Attending:

• ·         Leti – Corpus
• ·         Kathy - Odessa

Contract

• ·         Internal process for contract – Please go through the internal processes ASAP
• ·         Setting up the contract with local sites – refer to HUSA contract, and the approval letter sent by Carla for the grant submission
• ·         Please work on getting your contract through your internal process so it can be put into place as soon as your HHSC contract is done.
• ·         NOTE – to purchase curriculum your contract must be signed and fees paid!!!

Recruiting

• ·         Flyer for recruiting is on the blog, in the “Resources” tab, under HIPPY, http://txhv.blogspot.com/p/resources.html
• ·         Recruiting only 3’s for this summer, and 3’s and 4’s for the fall
• ·         Remember – you are recruiting for home visitors and for parents at the same time
• ·         Use Texas HIPPY “Application” for the intake – keep in mind that this form will change once benchmarks are finalized. The Application form is available here: http://www.unt.edu/hippy/backoffice/forms.html - no need to fill out other forms at this time.

Benchmarks

• ·         Become familiar with the benchmarks – look at “Attachment 3” here - http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/contract/529120029/rfp.shtml
• ·         Keep in mind – the benchmarks are still a work in progress, and we will be working with HHSC to develop intake, ongoing and exit forms to gather the information necessary to measure the benchmarks. Also, we will be adding some data fields to our existing online system.

Training

• ·         Carla is asking HIPPY USA for date in August – will probably be in Little Rock – update – HUSA will be setting a date soon and letting us know.
• ·         TX HIPPY (Carla, Keshia, someone!) will conduct a 2 day onsite visit to help sites start up, before the coordinator attends preservice. This will be followed by a start up visit where the trainer will work with the coordinator and new home visitors. Lots of training and support!