Introduction of Special Section of Infant Mental Health Journal: Meeting the needs of vulnerable infants and families during COVID-19: Moving to a telehealth approach for home visiting implementation and research.

ABSTRACT

Parents of infants and young children who experience harsh circumstances are among those most vulnerable to the added stressors associated with COVID-19. Home visiting models have been shown to enhance outcomes for parents and infants when delivered in person, but in many parts of the world, the pandemic rendered in-person home visits difficult or impossible. In this special section, we examine adaptations made by home visiting programs to allow continued service delivery through telehealth, and strategies for assessing whether interventions maintain reach and fidelity when implemented remotely. In the first paper, Bullinger et al. (program implementers of SafeCare) provide evidence of the increased risk of maltreatment during COVID-19 for many families, and thus the need for home visiting services. Rybinska et al., developers and implementers of Family Connects, present evidence regarding their success in reaching families through telehealth. Roben and colleagues, in the third paper, report that clinicians implementing Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up through telehealth maintained fidelity at similar rates seen through in-person implementation. Finally, Tabachnick et al. describe procedures for collecting physiological data from infants and parents while conducting assessments remotely.