Page 23 - BTC Yearbook 2016

Maine Home Visiting Touchpoints Project

Dora Davis Rob Hatch Mary Lynn Hersey Sheri Smith

Dora is Program Manager for the Maine Families Aroostook County site. She has been
with home visiting for over 15 years and lives in northern Maine with her husband and
two daughters.

Rob is President and Co-Founder of Owner Media Group Inc. He is an executive coach,
trainer, and speaker. His personal mission is to help others do their work better. He lives
in southern Maine with his wife, Megin, and their four children.

Mary Lynn is Technical Assistance Specialist and Trainer for the Maine Families Home
Visiting Program. She and her husband live in central Maine in a log cabin they built
themselves, and are launching their five young adults out into the world!

Sheri is Coordinator for the Maine Touchpoints Project, Maine Families Training
Coordinator, and a National Touchpoints Trainer. She lives in central Maine with her
husband, and is happiest when playing with one, or all five, of her grandchildren.

Since 2007 the Maine Home Visiting Touchpoints Team has enjoyed the privilege of
providing Touchpoints training and reflective practice support for Maine Families Home
Visiting Program managers, supervisors, and home visitors. In 2015, home visitors
served over 2,500 families of Maine’s youngest children (prenatal through age three).

Over time, the Touchpoints Approach has become a key part of Maine Families’
organizational culture and the guiding philosophy underlying all their work with families.
Intentional reflective practice is integral in developing/adapting Maine Families’ policies
and procedures; professional development planning and training; and all relationships –
staff with families, supervisors/managers with home visitors, and provider with provider.

In an evaluation of the Touchpoints Project, families reported experiencing emotional
support, having their ideas listened to, and feeling respected and treated as the experts of
their children by their home visitors. Home visitors reported increases in job skill
confidence levels, including: anticipating with parents about their children’s
developmental changes, treating parents as the experts of their children, identifying
strengths in families during crisis, and engaging parents.