Each Child. Every Community.

North Carolina is moving toward a comprehensive system of home visiting and parenting education. NCPC is a leader in this effort, which will improve families’ access to a range of well-coordinated parenting supports. Policy makers and the public are more aware of how critical the early childhood years are, especially prenatal to age 3, for brain development and lifelong health and wellness, as well as the available science on the efficacy of home visiting and parenting education (HVPE) programs. The pandemic has only heightened understanding of the health and economic disparities in our state for families with young children and the importance of offering support and parenting guidance to families.

The statewide vision is: All families have access to a range of parenting education supports, from the prenatal period to age 8, within a coordinated delivery system, which will positively impact parent-child relationship and family and child well-being.

NC leaders are launching a comprehensive, collaborative approach to a system that encompasses HVPE. This approach includes a detailed system action plan, staffing, and leadership infrastructure, and system building and change activities that will grow and strengthen the system to achieve a statewide vision.
The early priorities of the HVPE System Action Plan are continuing to be supported by NC’s Home Visiting and Parenting Education (HVPE) System work. Resources are being built out and the statewide structure is a focus. Currently, private funding is secured to support a full-time director that will be housed at NCPC, the Collaborative Board, and limited community technical assistance (TA). An interim director is supporting initial activities while NCPC and other members of the Collaborative Board interview potential candidates. Learn more about the HVPE System Collaborative Board and HVPE resources here…

HVPE System Collaborative Board
The HVPE Collaborative Board met for the second time May 21, 2021 and prepared to welcome families as equal partners through training and discussion. The Board also reviewed HVPE System Action Plan priorities to provide strategic guidance to committees as they are forming and discussed the timing for an open-invitation statewide HVPE system meeting. Recruitment for two Advisory Groups, the Family Advisory and Community Advisory groups, is actively underway.

During May, the Board will invite those interested to join one of four Board committees to work on implementing Action Plan priorities – Finance, Programs, Assessment and Planning, and Communications. Participants can play a key role now to help assure the Board has excellent family expertise and perspectives.

You can contact Donna White, Interim HVPE System Director, with your recommendations for family leaders. The Advisory Group Role Description for agency leaders is here. A separate description is available to share with family leaders along with their invitation.

Additionally, NCPC, PCANC, and local partnership representatives are working together to develop a shared approach to supporting communities. The goal is to use a systems lens for expanding and improving access to high quality HVPE programs. More information will be available this summer. Please contact Donna White if you are interested in contributing to the design of this shared TA approach.

Other resources include:

• HVPE Communications Toolkit– A useful tool for building awareness about the value and impact of HVPE services.
• HVPE fiscal modeling tool- is being refined based on feedback during a recent webinar and will be made available for communities to use in planning for the cost of one or more programs and a continuum of HVPE services.