Implementing Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)^®

The HIPPY Start-Up Manual assists potential affiliate sites through the decision-making and program application processes. It also provides basic information to support actual implementation.

The Coordinator Guide is a comprehensive reference covering all responsibilities of the site coordinator and is distributed during pre-service training. HIPPY USA Managing for Excellence is a supplement to the Coordinator Guide. It provides in-depth, step-by-step guidance in the daily operations of the HIPPY program.

HIPPY USA requires local sites to complete the forms listed below related to service delivery. Information from the forms is entered into the ETO management information system.

• The Coordinator’s Background Form records the coordinator’s personal demographic information, as well as areas of educational and professional expertise.
• The Home Visitor’s Background Form gathers information about each home visitor in the program, including a brief employment history (HIPPY-related), educational background, and professional training.
• The HIPPY Application Form is used during the family recruitment process and includes enrollment status, basic background information about HIPPY adults, household demographics, group meeting availability and information regarding any child care needs during group meetings, family status update, adult services record, and individual child and child services record.
• The Home Visit Scheduling Form gathers information about the scheduling of home visits by the home visitors. It records the activity packet number, number of unsuccessful attempts to conduct a home visit, reason for the unsuccessful attempts, whether the activity packet was received during the home visit or at the group meeting, and date. A Home Visit Scheduling Report can be generated to track the progress of each child.
• The Home Visit Progress Form is used during the home visit to evaluate the activity packet completed during the prior week. The home visitors are asked to record information such as the total number of days, and minutes per day, the family spent on HIPPY during the prior week. There is also room on the form for the home visitor to record any relevant comments. A Home Visit Progress Form can be generated to track the progress of each child.

HIPPY USA disseminates a guidance manual with information about a variety of instruments that local affiliate sites use, such as the Bracken, Brigance, Peabody Developmental Motor Scale, Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Teaching Strategies GOLD, and kindergarten readiness assessments. Affiliate sites may use these tools or other tools required by their host agency, organization, or district to assess skill attainment across each age group.

The HIPPY model includes the use of a curriculum and role play as the method of teaching parents the skills needed to implement the curriculum with their child. The HIPPY curriculum focuses on exposing children to skills, concepts, and experience with books to support school readiness. Each of the four HIPPY curricula (Little Learners, Age 3, Age 4, Age 5) contains 30 weeks of activity packets and storybooks for parents to use with their children. Parents are trained to use the relevant curriculum through weekly visits with peer home visitors; parents and children are instructed to spend 15 to 20 minutes a day together completing the activities.

The HIPPY USA curricula are available in English and Spanish.

HIPPY USA monitors sites to ensure fidelity and continuous quality improvement. HIPPY USA requires sites to first engage in a self-assessment to determine how well the program is aligned with HIPPY USA’s standards of practice. Sites then receive an on-site visit from a national HIPPY trainer, who monitors the quality of the program based on file reviews, interviews, and observations of home visits and meetings.

Each site that demonstrates quality programming by meeting all HIPPY USA standards earns accreditation status and a three-year certification. Sites must develop and submit within 30 days an improvement plan to address any standards they do not meet. The national trainer and national office staff monitor compliance with the plan throughout the year.

The HIPPY Excellence: Model, Guidance, and Accreditation manual establishes standards by which all affiliate sites are assessed. These standards reflect the essential elements that are fundamental to replicating and implementing the HIPPY model with fidelity. They define the performance expectations, structures, and processes that must be in place to achieve fidelity to the model. The standards are as follows:

1. The affiliate site implements at least two consecutive years of the program, uses the current sanctioned editions of the curricula, and provides each child an individualized copy of the curriculum.
2. Parents complete each week’s activity packet with their child.
3. During the weekly in-service staff meetings and home visits, each home visitor has activity packets, props, and access to the Home Visitor Guide for each curriculum being used.
4. The coordinator uses the Keys to Successful Role Play to train home visitors to present each week’s activity packets to parents.
5. Home visitors meet with parents in their homes at least 90 percent of the time and conduct visits lasting 45 to 60 minutes.
6. At least six group meetings (including socializations, field trips, and graduations) are organized and held during the year.
7. Group meetings offer educational enrichment, information, and activities that meet the needs of the parents. Children are provided enrichment activities during group meetings.
8. The coordinator has attended pre-service training, has a bachelor’s degree or is actively working toward a bachelor’s degree, and has the minimum required contact hours of training in early childhood development.
9. The coordinator evaluates each home visitor’s performance at least three times a year based on home visits, group meetings, and in-service staff meeting observations.
10. The coordinator establishes a weekly in-service staff meeting. During the meetings, the coordinator uses the Coordinator Guide to train staff in the curriculum, including related child development concepts and terminology. All staff attend the weekly staff meetings.
11. Home visitors are HIPPY parents, former HIPPY parents, or are knowledgeable of the language and culture of the community served.
12. Home visitors can read, write, and speak well in the language of the curriculum they will use with assigned parents.
13. The home visitor has a professional development plan based on performance evaluations and career goals.
14. Funding supports all essential features and administrative functions of a cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable program.
15. Families are supported through referrals for educational, social, and community services.
16. Each coordinator is responsible for a maximum of 180 children, and home visitors are assigned the appropriate caseload of children based on the level of employment (part-time or full-time).
17. Agency ensures all staff members receive comprehensive pre-service training plus 15 hours of annual in-service training related to job responsibilities.
18. The coordinator’s supervisor is knowledgeable and supportive of the HIPPY program as evidenced by participation in supervisor training and HIPPY events.
19. Data collection system tracks child, parent, and program progress as well as generates required HIPPY USA outcomes reports.
20. The record-keeping system is organized for efficiency and ensures the confidentiality of personal information.
21. The affiliate site has an active advisory council that includes decision-makers and leaders in the community.
22. At least 80 percent of the children enrolled complete the required weeks of the curriculum annually.
23. The affiliate site reports parent and child outcomes to demonstrate effectiveness.
24. The affiliate site has an employee manual that includes information for hiring and training, expectations, job descriptions, how employees’ issues are handled, and grievance procedures.

The information contained on this page was last updated in July 2020. Recommended further reading lists the sources for this information. In addition, the information contained in this profile was reviewed for accuracy by the HIPPY USA national office on April 10, 2020. HomVEE reserves the right to edit the profile for clarity and consistency.