Abstract
This guide offers practical insights about how home visiting programs can better serve depressed mothers and their young children. Results reveal no single source of help, formal or informal, is universally trusted by mothers, who look for someone with whom they have a trusting relationship over time. Home visiting programs have great potential to help these families. However, programs need strong mental health connections, staff training, and capacity to transition depressed mothers to follow-up treatment, among other enhancements. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation funded this research as part of an Urban Institute project identifying effective service approaches for depressed mothers.