The experiences of early childhood development home visitors in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa

BACKGROUND This article examines the development of early childhood development (ECD) home-visiting services in South Africa. AIM To examine the factors that could support the success of home-visiting programmes as well as to explore the experiences of bachelor’s-level home visitors rendering such services. SETTING This study was conducted in the Eastern Cape, a highly impoverished area of South Africa. METHODS It begins with a discussion of the emergence of home-visiting as a strategy for the delivery of ECD services in South Africa and a review of the literature on ECD home-visiting, particularly with highly vulnerable, impoverished families. Next a focus group conducted with a small sample of home visitors as part of a multi-faceted community assessment is described. The results are examined within the context of challenges facing this particular part of South Africa and the nation as a whole. RESULTS Four themes emerged as most prominent: (1) encountering the effects of extreme family poverty, (2) identifying high rates and multiple aspects of child maltreatment, (3) encountering scarce resources in high-need areas and (4) finding rewards and maintaining a desire to continue serving challenging populations. CONCLUSION This study provides a unique window on the challenges that ECD home visitors are likely to encounter when working with families living in extreme poverty, the resourcefulness that home visitors often demonstrate and the rewards to be found in this work.Published versio

Growing together: expanding roles for social work practice in early childhood settings

In the United States, interest in early childhood development has grown dramatically over the past two decades and continues to expand. Increasing public support for programs and services that address the needs of young children and their families provides numerous opportunities for social work intervention. This article describes three major early childhood systems—early intervention, Early Head Start, and early care and education—and discusses ways that social workers can strengthen programs within these systems and improve outcomes for participating children and families. Social workers' understanding of and commitment to family-centered practice and cultural competence are highlighted. Opportunities for social workers to become involved in advocating for, developing, and leading high-quality early childhood programs and implications for social work education are also discussed.Accepted manuscrip

Guidance of a low l/d vehicle entering the earth's atmosphere at speeds up to 50,000 feet per second

Guidance of low lift-drag ratio vehicle during earth atmosphere reentr

Tackling health inequalities through developing evidence-based policy and practice with childbearing women in prison: a consultation

A collaborative partnership between the Hallam Centre for Community Justice and the Mother and Infant Research Unit (MIRU) at the University of York was successful in securing funding to conduct this consultation project. This collaboration brought together the knowledge and expertise of researchers working in maternal and infant health and those with knowledge of the prison sector. This consultation scopes and maps the health needs and health care of childbearing women in prison, using the Yorkshire and Humberside region as a case study