5.12.4
Personal Visit Observation Tool and Home Visit Rating Scale (HOVRS)
What is the Personal Visit Observation Tool?
The Personal Visit Observation Tool is a resource for supervisors, Family Services Coordinator, and Home Visitors to regularly review/monitor and, as needed, address the quality of personal visits delivered.
Within six months of receiving the Foundational Parents as Teachers (PAT) training, new Home Visitors are observed by the supervisor, Family Services Manager, or Family Services Coordinator conducting at least one personal visit and provided with feedback. Feedback will consist of a meeting scheduled within two weeks of the observation to review the monitor. A second observation is conducted one year after receiving the Foundational PAT training.
In their second year of employment and beyond, Home Visitors are observed annually by their supervisor, Family Services Manager, or Family Services Coordinator and are provided with written and verbal feedback.
The Personal Visit Observation Tool is comprised of three main sections:
- Visit Preparation
- Personal visit elements
- Home visit process quality
Purpose
The Personal Visit Observation Tool assesses specific content and delivery of the visit based on the Home Visitor’s understanding of the planning process, the family, and the specific visit plan to ensure the program is providing high quality home visits for all families.
The Family Services Department uses the Observation tool to observe and provide feedback to Home Visitors on their strengths and areas for growth.
Rating
Overall rating of the quality of the delivery of the personal visit elements
Definitions of rating scale anchors:
Inadequate: The personal visit was unorganized; the Home Visitor delivered none/very few of the intended personal visit elements of the visit.
Adequate: The personal visit was organized and several, but not all, of the intended personal visit elements were delivered based on the plan used.
Good: The personal visit was well-organized and most, but not all, of the intended personal visit elements were delivered based on the plan used.
Excellent: The personal visit was very well-organized and all of the intended personal visit elements were delivered based on the plan used. **Be sure that the rating is well supported by and consistent with the ratings and notes made in the “Personal visit elements” section of this tool.
A determination will be made on whether or not the expectations were met based on the final score. Each of the three main sections of the personal visit elements are determined to be met or not met based on the guidelines listed below.
- Inadequate and Adequate (Overall score of 1-4) are “Not Met” and require a Plan of Action.
- Good and Excellent (Overall score of 5-7) are “Met” and do not require a Plan of Action although recommendations may be made.
What is the Home Visit Rating Scales – Adapted & Extended (HOVRS-A+)?
The HOVRS is a tool used to measure home visitor skill, four of the seven scales from the Home Visit Rating Scales – Adapted & Extended (HOVRS-A+) are conducted. Included with the monitor are detailed instructions on completing and scoring these scales. The scales include:
- Home Visitor responsiveness to family
- Home Visitor relationship with family
- Home Visitor facilitation of parent-child interaction
- Home Visitor family non-intrusiveness/collaboration with family
The HOVRS-A+ guides supervisors and monitors in assessing the visit’s overall process and effectiveness. The use of the items in the Personal Visit Observation Tool and the HOVRS-A+ together results in a comprehensive observation.
For additional support see the Guidance for Completing the Personal Visit Observation Tool.
After the Observation
Ideally, immediately after the personal visit has ended there will be a brief discussion with the Home Visitor and the supervisor, Family Services Manager, or Family Services Coordinator to discuss thoughts and general impressions of how the personal visit went. This brief discussion also gives Home Visitors the opportunity to reflect on how they felt about the visit right after it occurred.
Overall Rating of Process Quality
To understand the degree to which the Home Visitor partnered, facilitated, and reflected with the family during the home visit, an Average Process Quality score will be calculated based on ratings from the HOVRS A+ scales. Sum across the overall ratings on the four HOVRS A+ scales and divide the sum by 4. Interpret the result using the scale provided below that ranges from 1 (Inadequate) to 7 (Excellent).
Example: Given the following ratings: Scale 1=6; Scale 2=5; Scale 3=7; Scale 4=5, the overall process quality of the visit would be 5.75, indicating that it was between “good” and “excellent” (6 + 5 + 7 + 5 = 23/4 = 5.75).
Inadequate and Adequate (Overall score of 1-4) are “Not Met” and require a Plan of Action which will be documented on the Personal Visit Observation Tool Cover Sheet.
Good and Excellent (Overall score of 5-7) are “Met” therefore, do not require a Plan of Action although recommendations may be made.
Monitor Review Meeting
The supervisor, Family Services Manager, or Family Services Coordinator will schedule a meeting to have a deeper discussion of the observation, including sharing the completed Personal Visit Observation Tool and HOVRS. If concerns are identified, a plan of action will be outlined on the monitor coversheet and observation of the Home Visitor should take place on a more frequent schedule (i.e., every six months) to ensure visit quality is addressed in a timely manner.
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