Healthy Steps was a universal parenting intervention implemented between 1996 and 2001. The HomVEE review is based on Healthy Steps as implemented in the 1996 national evaluation, and referred to as Healthy Steps (national evaluation 1996 protocol), or HS (national evaluation). Sites enrolled in the national evaluation followed a protocol that incorporated home visits. However, home visiting is not the primary method of service delivery in the current model guidelines, and implementation of the HS (national evaluation) is no longer supported.
HS (national evaluation) was designed to enhance pediatric primary care for children from birth to age 3 and their families by incorporating preventive developmental and behavioral services into routine practice. The model strived to enhance the knowledge and confidence of caregivers as a means of promoting children’s well-being. It focused on aspects of the caregiving environment amenable to change. Infancy is a suitable period for intervention because it is a time of rapid child development and high stress for parents, and parents are likely to be open to new ideas. The model was designed to be universal, with services offered to all families in participating practices, in recognition that all parents have concerns and questions about their children’s health, behavior, and development. Operating through pediatric practices allowed the program to periodically reach children and parents during the developmentally critical first few years of children’s lives.