Chapter 8: Building Relationships with Families Through The Tribal Home Visiting Program

Tribal home visiting programs play a unique role in supporting American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) families as their children's first and forever teachers. They do this by building strong relationships between families and home visitors that are rooted in trust and personal connections that honor cultural values and lifeways. When families feel safe and understood, when they have support of their community coupled with the wisdom of their elders, it is more likely that they will engage in the full offerings of tribal home visiting programs.

As defined by the National Home Visiting Resource Center (n.d.), early childhood home visiting is a service delivery strategy that matches expectant parents and caregivers of young children with a designated support person—typically a trained nurse, social worker, early childhood specialist, or community member—who guides them through the early stages of raising a family. Services are voluntary for the family, may include caregiver education or coaching or connecting families to needed services, and are provided in the family's home or another location of the family's choice.