Professional Practice

Advocacy, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Building Collaborations COVID-19 Engaging Families Ethics & Boundaries Home Visitor Safety Poverty & Financial Capacity Building Professional Practices & Skills Research/Frameworks in Home Visiting Self-Care

Advocacy, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Focuses on building awareness around inclusive practices and advocating for equitable support. Find tools and readings that elevate cultural competence, promote fair treatment, and empower families across diverse communities.

Instructional

Advocacy 101 for Family Support Professionals (PDF)

Belonging

The Essential Power of Belonging by Caroline Clarke TEDx (11:28) – “Author and journalist Caroline Clarke explores our fundamental need for belonging and how critical it is not only to every individual’s fulfillment and success but to our collective wellbeing and future.”
Just Belonging: Finding the Courage to Interrupt Bias by Kori Carew TEDx (19:16) – “A moment of racial tension presents a choice. Will we be silent about implicit and unconscious bias, or will we interrupt bias for ourselves and others? Justice, belonging, and community are at stake.”

Colorism

Colorism – The National Conference for Community and Justice “In this bulletin, we will be discussing the topic of Colorism. You will find history, videos, articles/handouts, statistics and questions to ponder related to this issue.”
People of Color Discuss the Impact of ‘Colorism’ on GMA July 22, 2020 (6:28) – Research shows people with darker skin experience an increased number of problems, including socioeconomic issues. Amira Adawe of The Beautywell Project weighs in on how to fight the bias.

Cultural Humility 101

Reading Materials

Out of the Boardroom: How Nonprofit Board Members Can Be Effective Advocates in Troubled Times

Articles

Principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Access and Equity by Tina Q Tan (September 2019)
Reflections on Research: Toward an Open Data Toolkit Centered on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Principles (12/9/2020) by Rachel Woodbrook
Anti – Racism Daily – “Each day, we offer an overview on current events and apply an anti-racism lens. Learn how practices embedded in our politics, criminal justice system, and workplaces enforce systemic oppression – and what you can do about it.”
Privilege 101: A Quick and Dirty Guide by Sian Ferguson (September 29, 2014)

Professional Reading

Understanding Our New Racial Reality Starts with the Unconscious
Source: Greater Good – the Science of Meaningful Life
Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice,National Association of Social Workers (2015)
Father Involvement and Child Welfare: The Voices of Men of Color, Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, Vol. 11, Number 1 (2014)
Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Tribal Home Visiting – This brief presents three Indigenous food sovereignty partnerships that include home visiting programs and models. It concludes with guidance for others seeking to embark on similar efforts.

Talking Points

Home Visiting Talking Points (PDF) – Home visitors can advocate for their roles and their programs as concerned citizens, during their own private time. You can use this document to help policy-makers understand the value of home visiting and your role
Value of Professional Development Talking Points (PDF) – Professional development helps family support professionals feel more confident and competent in their roles.

Resources

Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches to Serving Diverse Populations: A Resource Guide for Community-Based Organizations – This 2017 resource guide identifies easily accessible resources on cultural competency that organizations can use to become more responsive to the needs of their targeted populations, and to help attract funds to support their important work.
Head Start’s Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC). Administrators, teachers, caregivers, and families can use these resources to help ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate services for all children birth to 5. These resources can also help staff provide high quality services for children who are dual language learners (DLLs). Programs can promote positive experiences for DLLs by holding high expectations. They can also emphasize children’s cultural and linguistic strengths.
Head Start’s ECLKC Family Engagement webpage, which includes the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework, Boosting School Readiness through Family Engagement (simulation series), Engaging and Goal-Setting with Families, and the Family Engagement Family, Language and Literacy webinar series.

Videos

The Danger of a Single Story, 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, TED Talks
My Year of Reading a Book from Every Country in the World, Ted Talk, Ann Morgan, (12:03 min)
How Culture Connects to Healing and Recovery, Ted Talk, Fayth Parks (13:40 min)
How to get Serious about Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace by Janet Stovall (September 13, 2018) TED Talk – “Imagine a workplace where people of all colors and races are able to climb every rung of the corporate ladder — and where the lessons we learn about diversity at work actually transform the things we do, think and say outside the office. How do we get there? In this candid talk, inclusion advocate Janet Stovall shares a three-part action plan for creating workplaces where people feel safe and expected to be their unassimilated, authentic selves.”

Websites

Zero to Three Home Visiting: Supporting Parents and Child Development includes resources and tools to help policymakers and professional understand the importance of investing in home visiting programs and support the implementation of home visiting programs as part of a comprehensive and coordinated system of services for young children and their families.
National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University. The mission of the NCCC is to increase the capacity of health care and mental health care programs to design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems to address growing diversity, persistent disparities, and to promote health and mental health equity.
The Cross Cultural Health Care Program offers resources for health and social service providers.
University of Kansas Community Health and Development Center’s Community Toolbox, Cultural Competence in a Multicultural World, features 11 topics related to Culture and Diversity.
The Ways: Stories on Culture & Language from Native Communities Around the Central Great Lakes.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Topics – The topic areas page includes information and resources related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) from the U.S. Department of Education (Department), Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and other Federal agencies.

Building Collaborations

Explore frameworks and case examples that help strengthen partnerships with families, community partners, and interdisciplinary teams. Includes tools for effective communication, coordination, and co-planning.

Reading Materials

Chamber Executive: Where Workforce Development Begins, October 2012, Libby Doggett
Partnerships: Frameworks for Working Together. This guidebook, developed for the Strengthening Nonprofits: A Capacity Builder’s Resource Library, is helpful to any organization or coalition of organizations that wants to know more about establishing and managing partnerships. (updated 2010)
Guiding Principles for Public-Private Partnerships – A Tool to Support Engagement to Achieve Public Health Goals. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2018
Nonprofit Collaborations: Why Teaming Up Can Make Sense, Forbes Magazine, April 9, 2013.

Videos

Business Leaders Team up to Benefit Education, Economy – ReadyNation
Change the First five Years and You Can Change Everything – Ounce of Prevention
Smart Beginnings and the Workforce Pipeline

Local Organizations

Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention “The Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board is committed to mobilizing research and practices to prevent child maltreatment in the state.”
Supporting Families Together Association. SFTA is Wisconsin’s statewide member association for organizations and individuals committed to making every early childhood a great one. The core membership consists of Wisconsin’s Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) and Family Resource Centers (FRCs). Individual membership is made up of other like-minded individuals.

COVID-19

Best Practices and Services

Home Visiting Best Practices
The CDC’s guidance for healthcare personnel (as of March 18, 2024):
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-recommendations.html
Rapid Response Virtual Home Visiting Resources
Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals collection:
https://rrvhv.earlyimpactva.org/resources

Resources for Families

PBS Kids For Parents – COVID-19 Resources
https://www.pbs.org/parents/coronavirus-resources-for-parents

Local Information

Wisconsin DHS COVID-19 Updates
https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/index.htm

Engaging Families

Highlights methods for building trusting, strengths-based relationships with parents and caregivers. Find reflective prompts, activity guides, and engagement strategies that encourage collaboration and mutual respect.

Reading Materials

Engaging Families in Case Planning (PDF) : Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012.
Strength-based parenting improves children’s resilience and stress levels
Why Don’t We Prepare Men for Fatherhood?
Engaging Families in Home Visiting: Why Does Family Engagement Matter? : Institute for Child & Family Well-Being (UW–Milwaukee & Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin)
Engaging Families: Field Guide to Making Home Visits Matter (PDF) : Maine Dept. of Children & Families Div. of Youth and Family Services, 2012.
Family Engagement: Partnering with Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes (PDF) : Bulletin for Professionals, Sept. 2016, Child Welfare Information Gateway.
News You Can Use: A Circle of Support for Infants and Toddlers – Reflective Practices and Strategies in Early Head Start

Recognition

Toolkits

Parents Anonymous NPLM toolkit (PDF) : A collection of PSAs, media strategies, talking points, and more.

Videos

Early Intervention Video Library : A free, centralized collection of EI videos for professional development, preservice training, public awareness, and individual study.

Online Training

Boosting School Readiness through Effective Family Engagement : A series of four interactive simulations from the Head Start Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center to practice building positive, goal-oriented relationships with families, setting goals, and discussing developmental concerns.

Ethics & Boundaries

Offers clarity on maintaining professional boundaries and ethical practice in homevisiting. Includes guidelines, case examples, and discussion resources to navigate complex situations with integrity.

Ethics and Boundaries Codes & Standards

Reading Materials

Home Visitors’ Handbook: Ethical Considerations : The Office of Head Start’s interactive online handbook section on ethics.
Maintaining Professional Boundaries and Ethics in the Home Visitation Setting (PowerPoint) : Michael Provost, LCSW, Parents as Teachers Program Director.
Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma in Child Welfare : The New Social Worker (Fall 2008)
Client Relationships and Ethical Boundaries for Social Workers in Child Welfare : The New Social Worker (Winter 2009)

Home Visitor Safety

Addresses safety planning and risk awareness for in-home work. Includes protocols, reflective tools, and best practices to support safety for both practitioners and families.

Reading Materials

Videos and Training Modules

Poverty & Financial Capacity Building

Offers insights into the impact of economic stress and strategies to assist families in building financial stability. Includes referral tools, planning guides, and access to supports.

Reports / Statistics

Poverty Data
U.S. Census Bureau (poverty estimates, survey details, guidance)
Poverty’s Effect on Infants and Toddlers (Infographic)
Zero to Three (Sept. 2018)
WI ALICE Report
United Way of Wisconsin, 2016
(Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – county-level basic needs budget & hardship demographics)
U.S. Census Bureau Library for Income and Poverty Data
Printable materials and deep-dive reports

Articles

Stresses of Poverty May Impair Learning Ability in Young Children
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health
Children in Poverty: Key Facts About Child Poverty (Jan. 2019)
Child Trends
Estimating the Economic Cost of Childhood Poverty in the United States
Social Work Research, Vol. 42, Issue 2, June 2018

Professional Reading

Poverty and Parenting Young Children: The Role of Parenting in the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty (PDF)
Focus Vol. 33, No. 2, Spring/Summer 2017 (UW–Madison Institute for Research on Poverty)
Fighting Poverty
Monitor on Psychology (APA), July/Aug. 2015
How to Reduce Poverty in the United States
UC Davis Poverty Research, 2015
Five Ways to End Poverty in the United States
BorgenProject.org, 2016

Resources

2Gen Tools to Help Children and Families Thrive
U.S. Dept. of Education (state/federal program implementation guide)
Pediatricians’ Guide to Poverty Resources – Wisconsin
Wisconsin Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Federal Poverty Guidelines
Wisconsin DHS (eligibility thresholds for health and assistance programs)
99 Great Resources Confronting Poverty and Hunger
MSWOnlinePrograms.org (tools for social workers)
National Center for Homeless Education (WI data)
Wisconsin Community Action Association
Statewide network to help low-income families escape poverty
Wisconsin Homeless Assistance Agencies
U.S. HUD directory
Benefits.gov – Wisconsin
“Your Path to Government Benefits”
Wisconsin Fathers for Children and Families: Legal Services for Low-Income Parents
Region-by-region legal aid resources
Financial Literacy Resource Directory
OCC (banking industry & consumer guide)
MyMoney.gov
Federal financial capability clearinghouse for youth, educators, and researchers
The Balance: Budgeting Calculator
Online budget planner for savings goals and expense tracking
Good Budget
Envelope-style budgeting app for families

Tools for Professionals

Your Money, Your Goals Toolkit (CFPB) – English (PDF)
Financial empowerment implementation guide: goal-setting, emergency savings, debt management, credit, safe financial products
Your Money, Your Goals Toolkit (CFPB) – Spanish (PDF)
Financial empowerment implementation guide: goal-setting, emergency savings, debt management, credit, safe financial products

Websites

National Human Services Directory (NHSA)
Coalition of 55+ national nonprofit human service organizations & initiatives
9 Ways to Reduce Poverty
PBS’s Raising of America campaign (early childhood focus)