Empowering Families: The Role of Provider Coaching in Indiana Early Intervention

Abstract

In 2022, Indiana’s early intervention program, First Steps, provided services to over 27,000 children ages 0-3. Throughout a comprehensive needs assessment, First Steps identified a need for more culturally inclusive educational materials to ensure early intervention therapists are providing culturally appropriate care. The goal of this capstone project was to provide education to early intervention providers regarding cultural humility in home visiting. This project consisted of a cultural presentation informing providers about typical household routines in Haitian, Burmese, and Latino/Hispanic cultures, as well as the creation of several cultural handouts. A pre- and post-survey approach was used to gather data regarding provider comfort, confidence, and use of Family Guided Routines Based Intervention (FGRBI) in early intervention home visits. Quantitative results of these surveys found that providers reported increases in all the previously mentioned categories. Many providers also provided qualitative evidence of increased knowledge due to the cultural presentation and handouts.