Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement
Category
Early Care and Education , Family Support
Child's Age
0-1 years, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, 4-5 years
Participant
ECE Owner/Operator, ECE Teachers, Human Service Professionals, Medical Professionals
Languages
English, Spanish
Brief Description
Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement is a training course that provides a framework for providers to engage families in their child’s development by looking at child development as a dynamic process with predictable periods of disorganization (i.e., Touchpoints) that tend to upset the whole family system. Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement provides concrete tools that strengthen family-child and family-provider relationships which are key to support optimal development in children.
Expected Impact
- Improved staff knowledge of child development and relational skills
- Decreased family stress levels
- Increased feelings of empowerment in families serves by a trained staff person
- Improved maternal-infant interaction
- Increased well-child care treatment adherence
- Improved child developmental outcomes
- Enhanced maternal mental health indicators
- Longer breastfeeding
- Greater satisfaction with care by providers 6 months postpartum
Core Components for Model Fidelity
- Intensive Training Course: Provided by the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, this training introduces the Brazelton Touchpoints approach to professionals who serve young children (birth to 5) and their families. Participants learn concrete strategies to create and nurture collaborative partnerships with families and to talk with families about their child’s development. Using an experiential approach, participants learn:
- A framework to look at the process of a child’s development which includes understanding periods of disorganization as opportunities to strengthen relationships
- Strategies for partnering with parents to promote child and family strengths
- Methods for helping parents understand and navigate their child’s development
- Techniques for addressing developmental concerns
Languages Materials are Available in
English, Spanish
Delivery Mode
Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement is available virtually or in-person and includes 6 monthly follow-up reflective practice sessions.
Dosage
The in-person format consists of 3 consecutive 8-hour training days.
The virtual format is delivered in three different dosages:
- 9-week training: Trainees complete a 1.5-hour orientation session followed by 8 weekly sessions that include 1.5-hour live sessions and 1.5 hours of asynchronous activities. Trainees then complete 1-hour reflective practice sessions delivered monthly for 6 months.
- 5-week training: Trainees complete a 1.5-hour orientation session followed by 4 weekly sessions that include 3-hour live sessions and 2 hours of asynchronous activities. Trainees then complete 1-hour reflective practice sessions delivered monthly for 6 months.
- 2–6-week training: Trainees complete six 4-hour live sessions delivered over 2-6 weeks, followed by 1-hour reflective practice sessions delivered monthly for 6 months.
Infrastructure for Implementation
Materials: For virtual training, participants need access to computers with cameras as well as audio (computer/phone) that has a microphone. A participant workbook and reference guide are provided in electronic format.
Space: For in-person training, implementation requires space for up to 27 people with a room configuration of participants sitting at tables arranged as a hollow rectangle to facilitate discussion among the group. Participant workbooks are shipped to the training site. Participant Reference Guides are provided in electronic format.
Other: To implement Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement by Brazelton Touchpoints, partner sites/agencies must identify the participant group, which should include professionals who work with young children and families and their supervisors/coaches. They then need to get leadership buy-in to provide the time needed to train participants and hold reflective practice sessions. Sites must provide the necessary support for participants to attend full training and reflective practice sessions. Partner agencies/sites must identify how to integrate the Touchpoints framework into the current ways they support staff (e.g., supervision, case management, staff meetings, etc.).
Staffing Requirements
Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement is provided by the Brazelton Touchpoints Center and is open to all professionals who interact with young children and families, from before birth to age 5. This includes educators, medical professionals, social workers, administrators, home visitors, and more.
Training for Model Fidelity
Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement is available online or in person through the Brazelton Touchpoints Center.
The training provides 20.25 CME/CEU credit hours for physicians, nurses, social workers, and psychologists. It is a 28-hour program that can be delivered in different dosages. Each course serves a maximum of 18 participants.
There is a train-the-trainer opportunity for specific organizations that want to build the capacity to deliver Touchpoints training to the staff and providers/professionals served. This is typically considered if the organization wishes to train over 100 personnel. Contact the purveyor for more information.
Contact Information
Touchpoints Training Archives - Learn with Us | Brazelton Touchpoints Center
As of July 1, 2024, trainings are available in August 2024 and September 2024.
Cost Estimates
Attending a Brazelton Touchpoints Center-hosted training costs $825 per trainee.
Costs associated with hosting the training vary depending on delivery mode.
- Virtual Format: $18,000 for up to 18 trainees
- In-Person Format: $25,000 for up to 25 participants plus travel expenses for trainers (estimated cost of $3,500)
There are additional costs associated with further implementation (i.e., train-the-trainer). For more information, contact the purveyor.
Purpose Service Code (PSC)
3125 (for ECE Professionals) - Quality Child Care
5517 (for FS) - Community Systems Building and Public Awareness
Program Identifier (PID)
Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement by Brazelton Touchpoints
Minimal Outputs for NCPC Reporting
FY 24-25:
- Number of professionals trained
- Number of families served by a trained professional
Minimal Outcomes for NCPC Reporting
FY 24-25:
- Increase in provider’s knowledge
Minimal Measures for NCPC Reporting
FY 24-25:
- Touchpoints Knowledge and Skills Survey (pre-post for the intensive training)
NCPC Evidence Categorization
Evidence Based- 3 publications, including a comparative program evaluation, a prospective/retrospective comparison study, and a single-subject analysis.
Research Summary
Three of the most relevant publications on Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement by Brazelton Touchpoints include a program evaluation, a comparative study using retrospective and prospective analysis, and a single-subject analysis study. The program evaluation (Ayoub, et al., 2017)1 was conducted as a mixed-methods study collected data from two comparison groups. The groups included Touchpoints trained staff and untrained staff. The evaluators found that the trained staff improved their knowledge of child development and relational skills. They also retained the knowledge and skills they developed for 4-5 years post-training. The practice of Touchpoints was related to decreases in family stress levels and increases in feeling empowered. Families also felt that they developed stronger relationships with the Touchpoints trained staff and that they interacted with them on a more frequent basis. Brandt and Murphy (2010)2 found that the infants that received the intervention had significantly less emergency room visits and fewer sick-child office visits, while also having significantly more well-child visits. The treatment infants were also breastfed significantly longer than the other groups. Treatment infants scored better for infant functioning and their mothers scored significantly higher on the functioning scales, with a trend for scoring lower on the post-partum depression measure. The treatment parents were also significantly more satisfied with the services received. These outcomes all remained true for the randomized group compared to a baseline group as well, besides a non-significant difference for infant hospitalization. However, there was a trend of fewer hospitalizations in the treatment group. Tazza, et al. (2022)3 completed a single-subject analysis study on a family with three children (ages 48, 42, and 11 months) that had previously reported corporal punishment and no support outside of the home. Post-intervention, the mother’s compliance significantly increased, along with her active participation and emotional involvement. The data collection at the follow-up assessment (6 months later) showed that the use of corporal punishment had been discontinued.
- ^ See Ayoub et al. (2017). The study was conducted as a mixed-methods analysis using non-randomized comparison groups. The population included 943 staff from multiple schools. A majority of the staff were female and were either White or African American. As for family/caregivers, 1,620 participated, and most were African American or Hispanic. The families had an average of 1.5 risks (includes no high school degree, food worries, single parent, unemployed, teen mom). Measures used included the Touchpoints Comprehensive Evaluation Survey, the Frank Porter Graham (FPC) Implementation Study Parent Interview, The Brazelton Touchpoints Center Family Survey, phone interviews, and written documentation regarding implementation, staffing, and enrollment.
- ^ See Brant and Murphy (2010). In total 70 mothers and 70 infants participated in the study. 35 mothers did not receive home visits (baseline), 15 mothers received home visits from nurses without touchpoints training (comparison), and 20 mothers received home visits from touchpoints trained nurses (treatment). Retrospective and randomized prospective data analysis were used. Data was collected in two phases. First a retrospective cohort for comparison data (one group was un-treated and one group received nurse home visits, but the nurses did not have touchpoints training) was obtained. They also found 30 women that were eligible to participate, 8 of which acted as a control group. Four months later, researchers used prospective randomization to assign 40 women to either the treatment or comparison group (received home visits from non-touchpoints trained nurses). A 2-hour assessment was conducted when the children were 22-26 weeks adjusted age. The researchers viewed medical records and collected demographic data. Measures used included the Ages & Stages 6-Month Questionnaire, the NCAST Teaching Scale, the Edinburgh Depression Scale, the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale, and the Perinatal-Child & Adolescent Services Assessment. Before looking at outcome data there were some significant differences between the groups. The comparison group (due to community referral) were considered more high-risk than the baseline or treatment groups. The treatment group also received about 7/3 home visits, while the comparison group received 5.3. Women in the baseline group also had higher education than the other groups. The researchers used regression modeling to control for the differences between groups and found that the treatment group was still associated with better outcomes and the intervention was found to be the strongest predictor for better outcomes.
- ^ See Tazza et al. (2022). The study was conducted using a single-subject analysis. The family was monitored throughout the treatment period using a weekly checklist and data was collected at 4 periods: baseline, 4 months after, the end of treatment, and a follow-up. Data was collected using the M-Scale of Perceived Social Support, Protective Factors Survey, and the Helping Relationship Inventory.
Researched Population
- Professionals who serve families with children ages 0-5, including ECE professionals, home visitors, and ECE assessment professionals
- Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement has been researched in public health settings and with tribal communities and child welfare populations
Ayoub, C., Vele-Tabaddor, E., Von Ende, A., Regalbuto, E., & Kole, J. (2017). Family engagement in Educare and the benefits of touchpoints-informed practice, 2009–2016 evaluation report. Boston, MA: Brazelton Touchpoints Center.
Brandt, K., & Murphy, J. M. (2010). Touchpoints in a nurse home visiting program. In B. M. Lester & J. D. Sparrow (Eds.), Nurturing children and families: Building on the legacy of T. Berry Brazelton (pp. 176). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Tazza, C., Bove, G., & Pallini, S. (2022). Efficacy of a Brazelton home-visiting program: a single-case subject analysis. Minerva Pediatrics. https://www.doi.org/10.23736/S2724-5276.22.06679-4
Local Partnerships Currently Implementing
Local Partnerships in purple have adopted Touchpoints: The How of Child and Family Engagement. Local Partnership contact information can be found here.