This Toolkit has been developed in the context of the project ‘Making the first 1000 days count!’. The aim of this Toolkit is to provide Home Visitors with the latest scientific evidence about child development, learning and well-being as well as practical advice and materials, which they can share with parents and carers. The tool will also be used to prevent child abuse and improve child well-being by providing education and services in families’ homes through parent education and access to community resources.
The information and materials provided in this Toolkit focus on play, learning and development in the first 3 years of a child’s life. Attention is also given to their safety and protection.
Quality home visiting programmes help parents provide safe and supportive environments for their children. Specifically, they can alert the parents to the importance of establishing healthy connections with their babies and of building loving, trustful and supportive relationships with their children. They can learn how to do that during their routine and everyday family activities. Home visiting programmes are also intended to reduce the stress parents and carers may experience in their parenting role – by providing a listening ear, calm reassurance, support and information.

The Home Visiting Toolkit is composed by four parts:
• Part One: Being a Home Visitor.
• Part Two: Home visits in Practice.
• Part Three: Info Cards on child development, play, learning and parenting (for Home Visitors)
• Part Four: Activity Cards to promote responsive parenting, child development and playful learning

It is composed of original material produced by ICDI, as well existing materials from other organisations including the ISSA-UNICEF ECARO Resource Package for Home Visitors. Part One and Two in English and Amharic are publicly available, but if an organisation is interested in applying it, ICDI offers a training during which Part 3 and 4 are also explained and shared.