As part of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency project, the study team identified a subset of counties across the United States affected by COVID-19 that are served by MIECHV-funded evidence-based home visiting programs. Using a range of data on the social determinants of health (SDOH), COVID-19 outcomes, and demographic characteristics, the project team identified 70 counties across the United States that were especially vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 and SDOH-related challenges. The project team further narrowed the list down to select five communities to engage in case studies.
As a result of that process, we partnered with the following communities to conduct case studies: the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Englewood (Chicago), Illinois; Logan County, West Virginia; Maricopa County, Arizona; and East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas Parishes in northeast Louisiana. After selecting the communities, our team began reviewing relevant resources to see the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team also met with staff from each site’s MIECHV-funded local implementing agency to learn more about the community, plan for site visits, and identify key partners to interview for additional context.
To support a community-engaged approach, we hired local community members as community researchers to support on-the-ground recruitment and context setting; the project team was advised by a board consisting of MIECHV awardees, policy experts, COVID-19 researchers, and families. Several of those community researchers spoke about their experiences working on this project.
Play videoOur project team visited the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) from August 7-10, 2023. The team partnered with staff from the Chahta Inchukka (“Choctaw Home”) Tribal MIECHV program (one of three interrelated home visiting programs in the CNO community) to learn more about the CNO community. During the site visit, we conducted focus groups with home visitors and parents/caregivers, toured the Hugo Tribal Services Center and the Talihina Community Center, visited the CNO Cultural Center, and worked with home visiting staff and the community researchers to learn more about home visiting in CNO and about the broader CNO community. After the site visit, we conducted virtual focus groups with parents/caregivers and completed interviews with other program and service leaders in the community. We also surveyed home visitors and a community service provider. This profile reflects what we learned during these activities and from publicly available data sources.
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Our project team visited Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood from May 28-29, 2023. The team partnered with staff from Parents as Teachers (PAT), which is housed in multi-service center Family Focus Englewood—the MIECHV-funded local implementing agency—to learn more about the community. During the site visit, we conducted focus groups with home visitors and community service providers, toured Family Focus Englewood, and worked with our community researcher, PAT supervisor Bella Mucino, to learn more about the program and the Englewood community. This profile reflects what we learned during these activities, from virtual focus groups with families, and from publicly available data sources.
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Our project team visited Logan County, West Virginia from April 11–13, 2023. The team partnered with staff from Healthy Families Mountain State—the MIECHV-funded local implementing agency in Logan County—to learn more about the community. During the site visit, we conducted focus groups with families, home visitors, and other service providers; toured Healthy Families Mountain State; and worked with our community researchers to learn more about the Logan County community. This profile was developed based on what we learned from these activities and from publicly available data sources.
Our project team visited Maricopa County, Arizona from May 17-18, 2023. The team partnered with staff from Southwest Human Development, Healthy Families Arizona—the MIECHV-funded local implementing agency in Maricopa County—to learn more about the community. During the site visit, we conducted focus groups with home visitors, recruited other service providers, and toured Healthy Families Arizona. This profile was developed based on what we learned from these activities and from publicly available data sources.
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Our project team visited the East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas Parishes in northeast Louisiana from May 23-24, 2023. The team partnered with staff from the Louisiana Bureau of Family Health, which runs the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program—the MIECHV-funded local implementing agency in northeast Louisiana—to learn more about the community. During the site visit, we conducted focus groups with home visitors and a community service provider. This profile was developed based on what we learned from these activities, a review of policies and local news articles, key informant interviews, and publicly available data sources.
The language on this page regarding the five partnership communities was revised in April 2025.