The Health Fund is funding an opportunity for Kansas home visitors to become trained and rostered in the provision of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) at no cost. The trainings will be held virtually in 2024.
Social-emotional development in young children is a critical factor related to later life outcomes such as school success, social interactions, and mental health. Healthy early childhood development provides a strong foundation for future learning and helps children reach their full potential, but risk factors including toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other challenges can derail this crucial process.
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) is an evidence-based ten-session home visiting program for families with children up to age 4 who have experienced early adversity. Designed to buffer the harmful effects of toxic stress and help restore normal early childhood development, ABC has been studied and found efficacious in randomized controlled trials with families referred by Child Protective Services, foster families, and parents adopting children from international orphanage care.
Broadly, ABC focuses on building healthy families through the development of secure attachment, nurturance, and positive regard. Each week, parent coaches discuss three target behaviors with parents using manualized content that includes showing example videos, citing research support, and encouraging practice activities between parents and their children. Most importantly, target-relevant parent behaviors are also supported by parent coaches making frequent in-the-moment comments. To learn more, please visit www.ABCintervention.org
Through this opportunity, the Health Fund will cover training costs and also provide the necessary equipment/materials for the coaches. To apply:
- Download, review, and complete the ABC Training Application and Expectations (fillable pdf) by March 15, 2024. Return completed form via email.
- Schedule and complete a 30-minute video conference interview with the University of Delaware (UD) ABC. UD uses an evidence-based half-hour screening process to predict which individuals are likely to have success training in ABC.
The trainings will be held virtually in 2024; dates and times will be determined based on availability and category. Questions? Please contact Katie Schoenhoff katie@healthfund.org.
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