Training Home Visitors to Support Technology-Assisted Depression Treatment for Perinatal Clients

This project seeks to create a web-based training package for the Healthy Families America (HFA) Home Visiting Program, designed for scalability and sustainability, that will allow HFA Home Visitors to support their perinatal clients with depression through the use of a tailored, entertaining, technology-assisted evidence-supported depression treatment. HFA is a leading, evidence-based home visiting program in the United States. Michigan HFA serves expectant parents and families with children up to age five through 10 local programs located in 41 of Michigan’s 83 counties. Michigan HFA serves a large proportion of rural counties throughout the state, with programs concentrated in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Michigan HFA aims to enhance family functioning by reducing risk and building protective factors and cultivating and strengthening nurturing parent-child relationships. Their three principles include trauma-informed practice, relationship building, and mindfulness and self-care. Through these principles, HFA Home Visitors build rapport with families served, creating trust to maximize program impact, and support parents when they experience emotional dysregulation.