Collaboration invites home support professionals to earn college credit at KU

BACK TO SCHOOL COLLABORATION INVITES HOME SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS TO EARN COLLEGE CREDIT AT KU Family support professionals can make a world of difference in the lives of the children and families they serve. Studies show that with the support of a skilled home visitor, parents and babies are healthier, children are safer and better prepared to succeed in school, and families become more self-sufficient.

Because a child’s future is nothing to gamble with, it’s vital that family support professionals are able to pursue educational opportunities that will help them be their best on the job, including earning a college degree.

Now, thanks to a collaboration between the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR), Iowa Department of Public Health, Virginia Department of Health – Early Impact Virginia, and James Madison University’s Health Education Design Group, they can do just that. The School and these partners worked together to forge new ground in continuing education for family support professionals, allowing them to take online courses through the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals (the Institute) and earn college credit from KU.

When home visitors have more skills, they become more competent at their job,” Jackie Counts, Ph.D., director of CPPR says. “It’s easier to focus on the relationship with families if you feel more confident in your skills.”

“I have worked with home visitors, and they do incredibly important work,” Dean Carney, KU School of Social Welfare says. “It felt like a real benefit to folks who are working very hard, boots on the ground with families, to have an option to get college credit, where they could work toward an undergraduate degree and have a career path forward.”

OVERCOMING BARRIERS For many home visitors, earning an undergraduate degree seems like an impossible feat. College tuition is expensive, especially on a home visitor’s salary, which is often under $30,000 a year. And, it’s hard to find traditional undergraduate programs that sync with a non-traditional student’s work and family demands.

Jackie Counts, Ph.D., director of CPPR, has prioritized finding innovative ways for family support professionals across the country to get the continuing education they wanted and needed to be their best on the job. “When home visitors have more skills, they become more competent at their job,” she says. “It’s easier to focus on the relationship with families if you feel more confident in your skills.”

PIONEERING NEW PATHS This idea for this collaboration first germinated in Iowa, where Janet Horras, state home visitation program director for the Iowa Department of Public Health, had a vision of providing online training for home visiting professionals that was accessible and affordable. She and her department were on the forefront of seeking collaboration between states to maximize training dollars and provide a shared product. The result was the Institute, which offers free online learning modules based on the national core competency framework for family support professionals.

Counts and the partners who helped create the Institute had an idea: What if family support professionals could earn college credit for the courses they took from the Institute? An advocate was needed to champion this innovative idea. The School of Social Welfare was excited to step into this role.

Michelle Mohr Carney, Ph.D., had barely settled in as the new dean of the School when Counts approached her with her idea.

Carney gave an enthusiastic yes and got to work within the university structure and figured out how to make this novel continuing education idea work.

To create the three undergraduate courses, faculty from the School first reviewed the existing modules offered by the Institute to ensure they delivered the content, quality, and rigor of a college-level course. They then bundled several modules together to create Home Visiting I, II, and III. In another innovative twist designed to support the unique needs of home visitors, this program rearranged the steps home visitors would take when starting their education. Instead of first applying to KU, paying fees, then taking the course, the order is reversed. Home visitors take the course first. If they achieve 80 percent proficiency, they are guaranteed to receive credit for their coursework. This unusual approach protects home visitors from the risk of making a financial investment in tuition and possibly not receiving the college credit.

INNOVATIONS TO COME This unique offering was unlike anything KU had done before, Carney says. But she and Counts hope it will be the first of many other innovative programs that allow the university to meet the needs of working professionals.

“I have worked with home visitors, and they do incredibly important work,” Carney says. “It felt like a real benefit to folks who are working very hard, boots on the ground with families, to have an option to get college credit, where they could work toward an undergraduate degree and have a career path forward.”

“I am really proud of this result, because home visitors are essential workers who really help parents be the best they can be,” Counts says. “To create something they can access, when it fits with their lifestyle and at their own pace, in a way that works for them -- I am grateful to be a part of this project.”

THE INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FAMILY SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS Provides family support professionals with the opportunity to learn and develop their skills.

It was created through a partnership between the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Virginia Department of Health, James Madison University’s Health Education Design Group, and the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnership and Research.

For more information, please visit

https://institutefsp.org

The University of Kansas is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action institution.

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE University of Kansas 1545 Lilac Lane Lawrence, KS 66045-3129 Phone: (785) 864-4720 Fax: (785) 864-5277 socwel.ku.edu

2020 Home Professionals

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