Baby face qualitative Evaluation

 
Baby FACE 
Wilder Research, January 2015 
 
Qualitative Evaluation 
18 
Program implementation 
Implementation of the Baby FACE program involves four main components: 1) home visits 
using the Parents as Teachers curriculum, 2) health and developmental screenings for the 
children, 3) group meetings and events, and 4) referrals for resources and services.
Home visits
Bi-weekly visits are scheduled with families. Parent educators partner with parents, and other 
caregivers, to help them to be the first and most important teachers of their children. Each visit 
includes: age-specific information about parenting issues and child development, and an educational 
activity between the parent and the child that is often adapted to emphasize the local culture and 
language. Each month families receive high-quality age-appropriate children’s books and tips on 
using them effectively. 
Successes 
Activities and handouts
The biggest success of the home visits, mentioned frequently by both parent educators and 
parents, was engaging parents and children in the activities. Parent educators (21) noted how 
much parents liked doing the activities and especially being able to create toys and activities 
from items they already had in their homes. The activities were often what kept parents engaged 
and participating in the program.
[Parents] like doing the activities. Like what they can do with a paper bag, just things around their 
home, to make toys for their child.
The activities are really fun for the kids. The parents I work with seem to enjoy doing the activities 
with the kids. The handouts just fit that visit each and every time. It is a very resourceful curriculum. 
And there are the multi-age activities. There is a lot of choice as far as the activities. The books 
kind of go along with the activities, and we share those at the same time. Everything flows 
together. And I like thinking of the different ways to do things. There are forms for you to include 
your own ideas. That made me feel that my ideas mattered, with forms to use for that. I don’t have 
to re-generate or create - it is all there.
Parents in six focus groups echoed these sentiments. They appreciated the activities, especially 
that most of them could be done with inexpensive or homemade items.
The things [parent educator] brought over, toys are expensive, but we could make Playdoh from 
our house. Using our wipe box, she used that as a tool for fine motor skills - learning to open it. 
Just simple activities that we can do at home - that helps. 

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