Project SHINE (State-level Home Visiting Integration with Early Childhood Data Systems) was supported by Child Trends and focused on integrating home visiting data with other early childhood data for better-informed decision-making and policymaking.
Oklahoma was selected by Child Trends to be one of five states to work on Project SHINE along with Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Utah. Because most home visiting data is disconnected, meaning it's spread across separate databases in different state and county agencies, it is difficult for state leaders and advocates to answer critical policy, program and research questions. This initative's goal is to improve this issue by integrating data and encouraging better decision-making.
In 2018, Project SHINE made progress by linking home visiting and SoonerStart data to determine if children referred for evaluation by a home visitor completed the evaluation within 45 days of the referral. By January 2019, 163 participants’ data were linked through the project. Of the 163, 35 received an initial assessment with SoonerStart within the 45 day time period and 118 participants had received an assessment prior to the home visitor administering the ASQ-3.
Recently, Debra Andersen, OPSR executive director, presented on Project SHINE at the 2019 National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting Programs with Kristine Campagna, chief of the Office of Family and Home Visiting and Newborn Screening, Rhode Island Department of Health; Dale Epstein, senior research analyst, ChildTrends; and Van-Kim Lin, research scientist, ChildTrends.
To learn even more about the status of home visiting in Oklahoma, read our FY19 Home Visiting Report.
On March 11, 2019, OPSR met with home visiting stakeholders to learn what additional research questions might further the goals of Project SHINE.
This meeting was facilitated by Child Trends' Dale Epstein, deputy program area director, and Van-Kim Bui Lin, research scientist. Attendees looked at past research questions and had in-depth discussions in small groups to develop additional research questions that could add to Project SHINE's progress. Featured perspectives from those in the field included: David Bard, associate professor, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center (OUHSC); Will Beasley, assistant professor, OUHSC; John Delara, epidemiologist, Oklahoma State Department of Health; Townsend Cooper, pediatrician, OUHSC; Stephen Gillaspy, professor, OUHSC; and Pamela Gutman, research supervisor, Cherokee Nation.
Find additional stakeholder convening resouces below: