Baby TALK Model

The Baby TALK model is being implemented in 36 states where professionals are building systems of collaboration to support families. These systems bring the resources of communities together to better identify and serve families, and to enhance relationships between families and providers. The result in families is enhanced parenting skills as well as parents’ increased participation in their communities.

For 25 years, the Baby TALK Model has been guiding teachers, nurses, physicians, librarians, social workers and city leaders in planning for their communities’ future success by supporting infants and their parents.

Baby TALK changes communities with 12 simple words:

Build a system. Identify others interested in serving young families in your community. Learn about their goals and services, and discover opportunities to assist each other in meeting goals for families. Establish a system of communication for ongoing support of families.

Screen every family. Cast a net over your targeted population in order to identify who is raising children. Use Baby TALK’s Encounter Protocol to learn about families’ needs and risk factors. This may include outreach to hospital prenatal services and obstetric units, WIC or pediatric clinics, and other community locations where families may be found.

Identify the need. Use this screening to identify which families are most at-risk, which ones are already being case-managed by other agencies, and which ones have needs which can be addressed wither through your resources or other community resources. Make referrals or connections immediately to establish trust with parents.

Deliver appropriate services. Families most at-risk may enter a system of case management with purposeful, frequent personal encounters. These may be delivered through home visit as well as other points of contact within the system of care. Families with fewer risk factors may be served by group encounters through the community’s resources, with ongoing efforts to re-examine the development of risk factor over time.

Using these steps as a guide, the Baby TALK model is applied flexibly to take advantage of opportunities and address needs particular to a targeted population. Baby TALK equips professionals for Baby TALK’s mission: To positively impact child development and nurture healthy parent-child relationships during the critical early years.

Here you will learn about what it means to become a Baby TALK program. From Training, professional products, the latest research from the field and the support of Baby TALK professionals, we are here to support you through the process. Welcome to Baby TALK.