Personal Visits
If an enrolled, actively participating family has a new child, should the parent educator start with Foundational Visit Planning Guides 1-8 for the new child?
With the exception of the first visit plan, foundational plans are to be repeated after the birth of the baby to provide parents opportunities to observe their child, practice parenting, and discuss family well-being from a new perspective. For more information on repeating these Guides, see Curriculum > Repeating Foundational Visits.
Who is required to sign the consent form in PAT? Is it any or all caregivers?
As long as consent is obtained from at least one parent, services can be provided
We are experiencing extreme weather/natural disaster. What do we do to ensure we meet the required visit frequency?
There are circumstances beyond anyone’s control that can impact service delivery. This is an opportunity to look at policies and procedures, to make adjustments and learn from this experience in order to provide quality services to families over the course of a program year.
Other programs that experience extreme weather on a recurring basis guard against the disruption by designing the program’s personal visit schedule to provide more frequent visits in the beginning, middle and/or end of the program year to ensure the visit frequency requirement is met for the year.
The visit frequency Essential Requirement is centered on annual requirements, allowing for flexible approaches and service design for families.
Where is the Parent Satisfaction Survey located?
The Parent Satisfaction Survey is located in OLIVER > DATA AND REPORTING > PARENT SATISFACTION page.
What date do you record in the “as of date” field in the Parent/Guardian Information Record?
The “As of date” for each row on a record is the date this information was discussed with the family. When the status changes on an item, add a row with a new “As of date” reflecting when this change occurred.
Should a family still be considered "high needs" if during the course of participation in the program, they no longer meet the criteria for that specific high need?
A family is no longer considered having high needs (2 or more family experiences and stressors) if they don’t fit the characteristics of the Affiliate Implementation Manual (AIM). End dates for stressors should be documented on the PAT Records. List of experiences and stressors with descriptions can be found on page 59 of the 2024 Affiliate Implementation Manual - English. They should then begin receiving services of a typical family.
Is home-visiting Early Head Start (EHS) allowed to enroll PAT families and vice versa?
From a model perspective we want what is best for the family. If the family’s need indicate that both services are necessary, then from the model perspective we are fine with that.
Usually this is a funder question. Many times funders will consider this service duplication and have the perspective that more families could be served if they participated in one service or the other. We support funders ability to make this decision and cooperate when that is the case.
We do “work with” EHS/and HS and that looks different depending on the needs of the community. It may mean that children enrolled in HS are not enrolled in PAT but a younger sibling might be. It may mean that children are served in PAT until they can transition to HS. Usually EHS and PAT services look so similar that it doesn’t make sense to have both services. But working with EHS may mean recruiting together, sharing referrals or serving each other’s wait lists.
How does the APR calculate the “two visits” per month to address the address the Essential Requirement measuring yearly number of visits that families should receive?
The Essential Requirements are based on visit expectations over the course of a full year:
• For families with 0-1 of the PAT stressors, at least 12 visits per year
• For families with 2+ stressors, at least 24 visits per year
How do I ensure my data collection systems incorporate all PAT fields from the PAT Records?
If you are unable to use the PAT Penelope data system and are using another data system, it is important to make sure that the data system you are using comprehensively includes the fields from the PAT Records.
If our affiliate shares results with the family and then enters the Family-Centered assessment and screening into Visit Tracker/other data system, can we destroy the paper protocol form?
While it’s advisable to keep a copy or upload a copy of the screening and assessment protocols in the family file, the results of the family-centered assessment and developmental screening is what is required for PAT. The protocols helps inform the goals and work of your program. Ultimately, programs should refer to their policies and procedures for guidance on how long protocols should be kept for your affiliate.
What resources are available to assist parent educators in supporting families that experience death (in the family unit or community) from a child being left in a car?
We have some information on this topic in a few different resources. We have one parent handout, Staying Safe on the Go, that refers to car safety. Our parent educator resource, Safe and Healthy Home Environments, in the Foundational Curriculum also provides information on vehicle safety and non-traffic injuries.
Is there any issue with fidelity in providing PAT services on an involuntary (court ordered) basis?
PAT’s philosophy is that services to families should be offered voluntarily but if the affiliate continues to operate in accordance with the Essential Requirements, then there is not an issue with model fidelity.
What family-centered assessments are required?
PAT does not require a specific FCA tool. Instead, we have a list of approved FCA tools you are welcome to choose from or complete the Family Synthesis Record from information gathered during personal visits and captured in the Data in Motion Records.
If I’m adding all the fields to our existing program forms and/or electronic system, how can I make sure all content is captured?
Conduct a comprehensive crosswalk showing where the content for each item on the PAT record can be found on the program’s forms or system. If you have a question about how a particular item is captured, please contact your State Office or Implementation Support Specialist at PATNC.
When using Foundational Visits 1-8, do Planning Guides also have to be used?
No. Planning Guides are to be used on the 9th personal visit and all visits thereafter.
When thinking about high needs characteristics (family experiences or stressors) for families, what counts for Teen Parent?
The Affiliate Implementation Manual defines Teen Parent (or Young Parent) as any person(s) under the age of 21 who is pregnant or parenting during the program year.
Can a family enroll in both PAT and Early Intervention services?
A family can be served by Early Intervention and PAT because the visits look very different. PAT focuses on the whole family and the family will need to be supported when facing a developmental delay. EI’s focus is on the child and does not provide the same support for the entire family.
Do you have ideas to share around Group Connections?
Reference the Group Connection Ideas from the Field location in the Supervisors Handbook in the Model Implementation Workspace.
If we are documenting information in a data system, do we need to have paper documentation in the family file as well?
All information can be documented EITHER on paper or in a system or a combination of both. It is up to the policies of your program how the data is captured and maintained. PAT does not have a requirement around this. If only some of the data is being entered into a computerized system, making sure that information can easily be pulled together in meaningful reports so that the supervisor can monitor fidelity at least on a monthly basis would be helpful. An annual summarization of data will help in the completion of the PAT Affiliate Performance Report (APR). The upcoming year’s APR is available on the Model Implementation Workspace under the APR tab.
Can a combination of data collection methods be used?
Yes. As long as the combination comprehensively covers all the content found on the PAT records and can report on all data points.
Can a grandparent serve as a caregiver during a personal visit?
If the grandparent is enrolled, meaning they provided the appropriate consent and signed an exchange of information form, they may serve as the caregiver during a personal visit.
When families re-enroll, should the PE start personal visits with the Foundational Visits?
Depending on the time lapsed since their last enrollment (and connection with the family) , l would suggest she revisit the first eight foundational visits for review and then she can create her own planning guides thereafter. The Foundational plans support the movement forward in the relationship.
Once an agency purchases the digital curriculum, how can it be distributed?
Curriculum permissions are not given to an entire organization. The individuals that are trained are. Those that are trained are welcome to share the content with other PAT employees, however, those employees are not authorized to use the content with families. Home visitors interested in using/sharing the content with families, should participate in the training.
If no one attends our Group Connection, does it still count?
No. At least one family attended the group. Families in attendance may or may not already be enrolled in PAT services. For example, a family may attend as part of the affiliate’s recruitment efforts
Is there a Planning Guide Sample?
Not yet. We have gotten more requests for the Personal Visit Record Sample so we developed that first. Sample(s) will be available in O.L.I.V.E.R. soon!