Building the First Bridge...
The cornerstone of APA is the Home Visitation Program which makes the first contact, builds the first bridge between the agency and at-risk families. The bilingual and bicultural home visitors visit a client family weekly/biweekly bringing the agency services to their door. They also translate for the medical providers and families during APA clinic visits. Home visitors are available in Cambodian, Cantonese, Laotian, Mandarin, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese. APA provides the only hospital-based, in-home support program in California for Asian Pacific Islanders. What they do is so special that they explain it best ....

Q: Who are your clients?
A: Asian Pacific Islander families and/or mothers having their babies at San Francisco General Hospital or other hospitals where they are assessed by their doctors and caretakers and referred to APA if they are at risk.

Q: How are at-risk families identified?
A: Well, at-risk families are often in stressful circumstances or environments. The family may not speak English or may be having trouble adjusting to a new culture, far away from traditional family support. Their marriage may be arranged or their new infant may be premature or ill. Sometimes there is evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse or mental illness. Social workers perform psycho-social assessments with pre/post natal mothers for early indentification of problems.

Q: How can home visitation help?
A: Home visitors are bilingual which enables them to open communication and to build trust in at-risk families. New families receive three in-home visits in their first month, drawing the families out of isolation and into the community by offering emotional support and additional services. The extended family support model has proven highly successful and acceptable to Asian Pacific Islander families.

Q: Additional services?
A: Yes, APA offers parenting education classes, support groups, counseling programs, and more. Home visitors assess a families needs and educate them about the opportunities and resources available to them.

Q: How does APA measure success?
A: Happy families are obviously very important, but there are facts and figures too. 92% of infants in APA families are up to date on their immunizations. APA has exceeded our annual service objectives; Over 88% of our clients show improvement at their case closing assessment in areas like nutrition, child care, parental attitude, child development knowledge and parental bonding.

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