Development and feasibility of the Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) early childhood home visiting program

Abstract

Objective: Early childhood home visiting programs are designed to promote healthy family functioning through targeted in-home family support, but research points to the need for adequate training and support for home visitors. The objectives of the current exploratory study were to (1) obtain feedback from service providers to inform development of a new home visiting program based on the Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) model, (2) pilot an online training for home visitors, and (3) evaluate home visitors’ perceptions of program feasibility. Method: Participating home visitors (n = 31) piloted the training and completing pre- and post-training surveys to assess attitudes towards trauma-informed care, pre-training needs, and post-training response. Results: Prior to training, most participants believed that staff in their program need guidance in improving client outcomes, including behavioral management skills (87.1% agreement). The training was well-received, with participants agreeing that the program will be useful (100%), materials are relevant to client needs (100%), and that they can make these materials a regular and sustained part of their program (94.7%). Discussion: The current study informs our understanding of the needs of home visitors and provides preliminary support for the feasibility of the TBRI Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.