u hfm glossary of terms

7/31/2019 U HFM Glossary of Terms

1/3

HEALTHY FAMILIES MASSACHUSETTSGlossary of Terms

September 2010Page 1

HEALTHY FAMILIES MASSACHUSETTS Glossary of Terms

Accreditation: The quality assurance process structured by Healthy Families America (HFA) toassess each site in the HFM network for adherence to the standards as defined in the HFA SelfAssessment Tool. HFM is an accredited state system in the HFA network of programs

ASQ: Ages & Stages Questionnaire is a survey of typical infant and toddler developmentdesigned for parents to complete. HFM uses this standardized measure to monitor the growthand development of children in the program. Programs must train their staff in the use of thistool

Case Review: Review of a familys case in the context of one-on-one supervision between ahome visitor and supervisor. This review is used to discuss the service level and the weight ofthe case in addition to the services provided to the family. Case reviews for each family musttake place at least every four weeks.

Case Weight: The numerical value assigned to each individual case based upon service leveland determined by clearly defined criteria as outlined in individual programs caseloadmanagement systems.

Caseload: The number of participants assigned to an individual home visitor. The maximumallowed caseload of participants at the highest intensity is 15 and at a mix of service levels is 20;

however, HFMIT recommends strongly that an average caseload size remains near 15participants at a mix of service levels.

Catchment Area: The towns and communities that make up the service area for a particularprogram; CTF defines catchment areas based on Massachusetts Department of Public HealthCHNA regions with some reconfigurations based on funding considerations

Coordinators Meetings: The quarterly statewide meetings with representation from each of the25 HFM programs; HFMIT members facilitate the meeting to share information, offer in-servicetraining, and coordinate networking amongst program staff

CTF: Childrens Trust Fund, the funder and statewide central administrator of HEALTHYFAMILIES MASSACHUSETTS

Enrollment: A participant is considered enrolled in HFM if after first voice-to-voice contact heor she agrees to any level of service in the program, including Engagement

Family Profile: The standardized assessment tool used by all programs with every familyreceiving their services


2/3



First Contact: The initial voiceto-voice communication the program has with a referredparent; this may occur on the telephone or in person, whichever occurs first.

FTE: Full Time Equivalent, measurement term to denote the percentage to which an employee

is a full-time worker

HFA: Healthy Families America is a national program of Prevent Child Abuse America; HFAprovides technical assistance and support to HFM. HFA programs exist in over 430communities in the United States and Canada

HFM: HEALTHY FAMILY MASSACHUSETTS, the name of the statewide program that includes 25contracted program sites across the state

HFMIT: HEALTHY FAMILIES MASSACHUSETTS Implementation Team, a team of professionals atCTF who work for the HFM program and meet weekly to discuss programmatic issues andmake policy recommendations

IFSP: Individualized Family Support Plan is the formal written plan developed in partnershipbetween home visitors and participants to document family goals and to guide service delivery

MSDR: Monthly Service Delivery Report, the report programs send to the program specialistteam to describe service delivery for the previous month

NSDP: New Supervisors Development Plan, the plan completed by all new supervisors tooutline their education, experience, and goals as supervisors in HFM

NSO: New Supervisors Orientation, two-day training for new supervisors and coordinators to

learn the administrative and program requirements of HFM

PCN: Personnel Change Notification form, the electronic form that programs send to alert CTFthat a personnel change has occurred (including hires, terminations, leaves of absence, FTEchanges, etc.)

PCA America: Prevent Child Abuse America, founded in 1972, is the leading organizationworking at the national, state, and local levels to prevent the abuse and neglect of the nationschildren and is the sponsor of Healthy Families America

PDP: Program Development Plan, the plan that programs complete at the beginning of each

fiscal year to formalize their goals for the coming year

PDS: Participant Data System, the web-based database system used by all programs to tracknotes and records of participant data


3/3



Primary Participant: An individual who is eligible for HFM and agrees to participate in homevisiting services. A primary participant may be either a father or a mother; if both father andmother are eligible for services, both may be primary participants.

Program Capacity: The total number of participants a program should serve based on the size

of its contract allocation as determined by CTF using the total number of eligible births in thecatchment area. Programs must serve 60-100% of their program capacity.

RFR: Request for Response, document outlining the requirements of the HFM contracts and towhich programs replied to receive funding

SAT: Self Assessment Tool is a resource for programs to ensure they maintain fidelity to theHFA model and meet the standards set out in the Critical Elements of HFA. During theaccreditation process programs use the SAT to create a self-study for submission to a peerreview panel

Secondary Participant: Partners of HFM primary participants in a significant care-giving rolefor the child, whether or not they are biological parents, who choose to participate in services inconjunction with the primary participant. Secondary participants do not need to meet theeligibility requirements of primary participants.

Service Level: The level of service a primary participant receives in HFM. Service levelindicates the frequency of required visits for each participant at various times in his/her HFMexperience. HFM service levels include Outreach, Engagement, Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly,Re-Engagement, and Other.

SIT: Supervisors Intensive Training, five-day training for new supervisors and coordinators tolearn skills, strategies, and techniques for providing effective reflective supervision

SSF: Supervisors Support Forums, regional networking meetings for supervisors andcoordinators

Think Tanks: Voluntary forums of program staff (primarily coordinators and supervisors)who offer their perspective on current work with HFM

u hfm glossary of terms

Documents