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!

March 22 Conference Call - HIPPY Sites

Attending:

Aliceson Pinkerton – Wellness Points, Longview, Gregg County

Kathy Siepak – UTPB,  Odessa

Kit Prince – Richardson ISD

Adriana Trevino – Dallas

Deana – Amarillo

Leti Aleman – Corpus Christi

·        

      Aliceson

•        Heard today – tentative award is out – it’s on the HHSC website – lists each vendor
• ·         Have posted the positions – have not moved forward, need to have funding in place
• ·         Transition with new CEO of the agency, social service office is also moving, therefore the system in flux

Kathy Siepak – UTPB,  Odessa

• ·         Have applied to HUSA for the contract
• ·         Intake, enrollment materials – on the timeline – link on back office -  http://www.unt.edu/hippy/backoffice/forms.html
• ·         Public awareness packet  - Carla will put up on website

Kit Prince – Richardson

• ·         Do we have to track the “old” families as well as “new” families?  No, only the new

Adriana – Dallas

Deana – Amarillo

Leti – Corpus Christi

• ·         Still waiting

Contracting

• ·         Signed by implementation agency
• ·         Needs to be in place  to purchase curriculum
• ·         Fees need to be paid to purchase curriculum? Yes, the fees must be paid. You will be invoiced along with the contract. These will be going out in the next few days!

Review home visitors – what we’re looking for, who is typical

• ·         Parents in the community – preferably from among the parents you are recruiting for the program
• ·         Communication skills, leadership potential, actively engaged with their own children

Preservice Training

• ·         Dates for preservice – date has not been set, probably will be in August in Little Rock

HIPPY Call

 

2.23.2012

Roll Call:

 

Dallas – Adriana Trevino
- No update at this time, waiting to hear about funding

Ector – Odessa, Kathy Siepak
- Haven’t gotten the contract, so can’t start in terms of the grany
- Head start is ready to go, with coordinator and home visitors on board

Nueces – Corpus Christi, Karen Turner
- Waiting for the grant – started with discussions to identify parents, districts to work with

Potter – Amarillo, Maria Garcia
- Have gotten confirmation from Specialized Therapy Services, they will implement HIPPY

Willacy – Rio Grande Valley, Monica Pena from AVANCE
- Same as the last call, just waiting

                                           

Funding start? None of us know – eek!

 

Lia Lent – HIPPY USA, Executive Director

• Welcome!
• National office will contract with each site, and invoice fees. Services include ETO (online system), curriculum development, etc.
• Sites’ primary relationship is with the TX state office – who provides technical assistance, training, fidelity monitoring
• Curriculum revisions are in the process – age 3 and age 4 curricula. Based on input from 500 parents as well as home visitors, coordinators, etc. Changes include formatting change, alignment with the common core standards, adding non-fiction books, more reading, more counting. Piloting next year and rolling out field-wide 2013.
• How is developmental appropriateness maintained? Learning domains are balanced, cognitive development skills have been increased in complexity to meet the demand in society (education systems, increased exposure to skills in early years). All skills, including cognitive skills, are presented through play, games, etc.
• Question: Sample of the curriculum – how to get ahold of it? It was mailed to each community. Lia will check with HUSA staff to see who it was mailed to, Carla will let everyone know.  
• Links to research – national, http://www.hippyusa.org/research.php, and TX, http://www.unt.edu/hippy/impact/pages/research.html
• New researcher – University of South Florida – will work with the national network of researchers.
• Contracting process – application to HHSC in lieu of HIPPY USA application. TX HIPPY will send HUSA the implementation plans and completed cover sheets. This will then begin the contracting process, which will be with the agency that implements HIPPY. Very important – have to have contract to purchase curriculum.

Benchmarks

• We’re reviewing the benchmarks to figure out how to best gather information, what will be input into the ETO (info management system provided by HIPPY USA), etc.
• Benchmarks are Attachment 3 on the grant – found here: http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/contract/529120029/rfp.shtml
• If you have not done so already, please carefully review the benchmarks

 

                                                                                                                                              

Start Up Timeline

• Found on the blog, http://www.txhv.blogspot.com/, under resources, under HIPPY
• Please read through (sorry for the fuzzy print) and we’ll use this as a basis for our next call

 

Hiring Coordinator

• Odessa, already in place
• Corpus, will be able to move fast for hiring – travel will take a little while to process
• Ector - Coordinator in place – not sure if we can commit funding until the RFP is done, hoping for next Friday
• RGV – coordinator applicants are in place, prescreened already. Hiring would take about 2 weeks
• Dallas – the internal process takes time, fortunately this is an expansion and existing staff can work on start up

 

 

 

HIPPY Conference Call 2/9/12

Attendees:

Dallas, Thalia Brinkman Dallas UNITED WAY

Working with DISD/ and they will be hiring additional home instructors
Adriana Trevino – Dallas ISD

Longview - Aliceson Pinkerton

Will provide HIPPY as soon as they hear back about funding and implementation.  They are ready to hire and get started

Odessa - Kathy Seipak and Brenda Waters: submitted application to Carla and has been approved, waiting for funding to be provided and is ready to move forward

Potter County / Amarillo Maria Garcia

Possible private providers that have not confirmed, but does look promising and can move fwd with application. Population is identified and home visitors identified.

RGV/McAllen - Monica and Michelle

Easter Seals/ subcontracting HIPPY… have submitted paperwork and waiting to hear back on funding. Have home visitors.

Nueces County / Corpus Christi - Karen

UNITED WAY: Has submitted paperwork and waiting to hear back on funding. Have started identifying target population.

The theme of the call is each are waiting on the funding in order to move forward. They have home instructors identified and ready to hire.

Q/A

Q:  Coordinator retreat/Pre-service two types of training that are offered. The HIPPY USA conference and the Kick Off are two other trainings provided. What are all these trainings? When and where are the trainings? How long are the trainings? Who should attend?

·         A: Preservice is a one-time training for new coordinators and assistant coordinators (full week) and the programmatic supervisor (direct supervisor of the coordinator) attends the first two days of the weeklong training. If the fiscal agent “supervisor” wishes to attend, it would be greatly beneficial, but it is not required.

·         Coordinator Retreat is an annual training, provided by Texas HIPPY, for 2 days, held in the Dallas area. It is for program coordinators/assistant coordinators.

·         Kick Off is an annual training, provided by Texas HIPPY, for 2.5 days, held at a retreat setting 1 hour from Dallas, which is for home visitors, coordinators and assistant coordinators.

·         HIPPY USA National Conference is a biannual national conference, for Coordinators and Assistant Coordinators held in even numbered years, provided by HIPPY USA. The National Conference will be held in April in Dallas. It is recommended that new sites not attend at this time, as staff will be very busy with start up.

·         The next preservice will be in Little Rock AK –on March 18-23, please contact Angela Jones, ajones@hippyusa.org for registration and information.

·         In order to accommodate new coordinators who are not hired in time for the March 18 Preservice, a second preservice may be held in the Dallas area. New coordinators should attend the next available preservice.   

Q: HHS funding? What is the date of releasing of funds?

·         A: We do not know the answer to this – please direct questions to HHSC.

HIPPY office will be making phone calls for site visits for compliance/start up training.

Call ended at 11:34 am

Happy New Year and Congratulations!

I hope you had a restful holiday after the intensity of putting together the grant application for the MIECHV funding. We are now in "the calm before the storm" and I know your minds are whirling with all the what if's, and to-do's, and I should's - don't forget we are here to help and support you. There's a lot to be done now if you are planning to begin home visiting later this semester.

• developing the posting and hiring packet for HIPPY coordinator and home visitors
• developing recruitment information for parents
• connecting with program partners to let them know you will need referrals for possible participants
• networking with the other organizations in you MIECHV grant network to begin planning together and identifying who does what

Again, please let us know how we can help and support you!!!

posted by carla.weir@unt.edu, Texas HIPPY Program