About Us

Our Story, Mission and Values

Our Story

The Bernalillo County Home Visitation Work Group Coalition was founded in 2010 and is a model collaboration of over 57 organizations that work to improve the quality of life for families who are pregnant or with young children. Home visiting addresses all spheres of health but specifically addresses infant mental health, development, and social-emotional health. Families are aware of the opportunities in center-based programs because they are highly publicized, and information about licensed centers is available through a number of websites. However, rarely do families know about home visitation options, most of these websites are not updated, and most services are not widely marketed.

The formation of this partnership is based on a deep-seated belief that children and families thrive at home with support from quality home visitation programs. Not all families are ready or need center-based education and care, and home visitation provides that option for families who can stay at home during these important formative years of attachment and bonding.

The BCHVWG recognized from the start that coordination is necessary for prevention services. The BCHVWG continues to work to bring program leaders together to build relationships and trust in the community with the common goal of improving child outcomes in New Mexico. This coalition has more than ten years of working together to provide resources, staff development, and, more importantly, a platform to share experiences and ask questions. As a group, together, the BCHVWG has succeeded in creating a mutual and respectful network of leaders who provide home visiting services through coordination, education, professional development, and problem-solving regarding the early childhood home visiting system.

In the Fall of 2011, APS Safe Schools and the UNM Center for Development and Disability entered into an agreement to hire an individual to build the group further and serve as the coordinator of the BCHVWG. Currently, the BCHVWG is coordinated by representatives from Youth Development Inc., Lovelace, the Department of Health, and CHI St. Joseph’s Children.

The coalition leverages grant funding from the NM Early Childhood Education and Care Department’s Systems Building Grant and in-kind support from Youth Development Inc., as a Fiscal Agent. BCHVWG Coalition’s Partners are provided through our existing network and community outreach. Our partners have grown to over 200 supporters, with approximately 45 partners attending monthly meetings. Our partners include home visitors, home visiting programs, community organizations, early childhood professionals, and family members as well. Although we represent Bernalillo County, our partners are from all over New Mexico.

The BCHVWG has oversight by the volunteer leadership of our BCHVWG Coalition Steering Committee, and activities are coordinated by our Coalition Coordinator employed by the BCHVWG Coalition to focus on trust with our partners, equity, commitment, outreach, communication, and collaboration at the local level, and connection with state-level systems-building work.

Our Vision

A Bernalillo County in which universal and equitable access to home visitation services provides a supportive foundation for children, families, and the community.

Our Mission

We will accomplish our vision by leveraging a reflective and inclusive culture through collaboration, trust, communication, and resource coordination.

Values

We, the Bernalillo County Home Visiting Work Group, are a volunteer collaborative that values:

Community Focus: We are committed to meeting, listening, and learning from the community as they prioritize needs.
Trusting Collaborative Relationships: We build trusting relationships within our families, workgroup, community, partners, and stakeholders to support creative and collaborative work. We are dedicated to a collective impact network that meets the diverse needs of our families.
Diversity: We include and empower VOICE within our diverse populations to best meet the needs of our families, workgroup, community, partners, and stakeholders through an including, respectful and trusting environment.
Equity: We are committed to promoting equity and inclusion in all that we do by actively working to address systemic barriers to access, referrals, and resources. We create a culturally responsive space to meet the needs of all home visiting programs and our beautifully unique and diverse community.
Integrity: We operate with the highest level of integrity in all interactions with families, partners, and stakeholders. We commit to being transparent in all our practices, accountable for our words and actions, and always strive to act in the best interests of our families.