National Home Visitor of the Year: Sanquinita Martin’s Commitment to Supporting Families
For more than two decades, Sanquinita Martin has dedicated her career to supporting families and strengthening communities across upstate South Carolina. Now serving as a Lead Home Visitor with The Parenting Place through the Healthy Families America model, Martin’s work has earned national recognition as one of five recipients of this year’s National Home Visitor of the Year honor.
But for Martin, the recognition is simply a reflection of the work she has long believed in: meeting families where they are and helping them build stronger futures.
A Career Rooted in Prevention
Sanquinita’s journey into home visiting began about 13 years ago, though her commitment to child and family well-being stretches back much further. She has spent over 24 years working in child abuse prevention, beginning her career with Foothills Alliance, where she helped lead prevention efforts in Anderson County, South Carolina.
During her decade at Foothills Alliance, Sanquinita helped implement parent support groups andfocused on building partnerships that would make parenting support more accessible to families.
“I worked hard to bridge barriers,” The goal was to bridge barriers Sanquinita explained. “Barriers such as childcare, transportation, and non-family friendly schedules prevented attends to support groups. Timing kept parents from being able to attend support groups. We were able to decrease those barriers with committed community partners and funders, and we found ways to remove those barriers.”
By collaborating with community partners—including local churches and major funders like the Duke Endowment and Anderson County United Way—Sanquinita helped establish multiple parent support groups throughout the region. When she left the organization, Foothills Alliance had the highest number of parent and children support groups in South Carolina, a testament to the partnerships and systems she helped build.
Meeting Families Where They Are
For Sanquinita, the power of home visiting lies in its ability to reach families in ways traditional services often cannot.
“Home visiting removes so many barriers and brings the program to directly to neighborhoods. Literally, meeting them where they are — instead of asking families to come to us, we go to them,” Sanquinita said.
By entering families’ homes, home visitors gain a deeper understanding of parents’ daily realities and challenges. That approach allows services to be tailored to each family’s needs, rather than following a rigid, one-size-fits-all model.
Sanquinita emphasizes that curriculums like Growing Great Kids, used in the Healthy Families model, are designed to be flexible.
Over the years, Sanquinita has worked with families from every background—from large homes to women’s shelters and even families experiencing homelessness.
“Everyone needs support in parenting. Every child needs a village,” she said. “We serve the family not the circumstance – from those in crisis to those in abundance. No matter the demographics. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or where you live.”
“We serve the family not the circumstance – from those in crisis to those in abundance. No matter the demographics. ”
The Challenges Families Face Today
While many of the challenges facing families have remained consistent over the years, Sanquinita has noticed several emerging trends.
One growing concern is the impact of technology on children and parenting. At the same time, families continue to struggle with longstanding issues such as affordable childcare, housing stability, and access to mental health services.
“The mental health of parents has really increased as a concern,” Sanquinita said. “The awareness is growing, which is good—but the resources don’t always meet the need.”
Even when families are able to access care, financial barriers remain. Copays, medication costs, and transportation can make treatment difficult to sustain.
Childcare is another major obstacle. Sanquinita shared the story of a young mother who lost access to a childcare voucher and had no choice but to send her toddler to live with relatives in another state so she could continue working.
“This is an example of one the untenable choices the parents are focused to make. These are the kinds of decisions parents are forced to make,” Sanquinita said. “Parents are juggling many life demands in multi-domains. They’re trying to balance work, childcare, housing, and their own well-being all at once.”
The Power of Community Collaboration
Throughout her career, Sanquinita has focused on building connections between organizations to better support families. She believes collaboration—not competition—creates the strongest support systems.
“We don’t need a new wheel; we need a stronger more inclusive one. Sometimes organizations try to recreate the wheel,” she explained. “As we continue to work together using the Protective Factors framework and evidence-based approaches, we’re able to support families more effectively. But if we work together, use the same evidence-based approaches, and speak the same language, we can help families much more effectively.”
That mindset has shaped Sanquinita’s approach to community work, from partnering with nonprofits and churches to connecting families with resources across sectors.
A Vision for the Future of Home Visiting
Looking ahead, Sanquinita hopes to see home visiting expand even further—especially into new systems like schools. She believes deeper collaboration between schools, healthcare providers, and home visiting programs could help address challenges earlier and give educators a better understanding of what families are experiencing at home.
Advice for the Next Generation of Home Visitors
For those considering a career in home visiting, Sanquinita offers simple but powerful advice: come with passion.
“You need a deep ‘why’ to sustain you here. Don’t come into this work for the money,” she said. “Come with a passion, a drive, and a desire to encourage and empower others.”
Home visiting can be demanding work, but Sanquinita sees it as an opportunity to make a lasting difference in families’ lives—even when the results take time to appear.
“You don’t always see the fruit of your labor right away,” she said. “We’re gardeners planting seeds! There are times you have to wait and water until their blooming season and sometimes you’re planting seeds that will grow years later.”
“Home visiting helps families grow — but it also helps YOU grow. Growth in empathy, social awareness, self-discovery, and a sense of purpose.”
Growing Through the Work
For Sanquinita, the work of home visiting is as transformative for professionals as it is for families.
“Home visiting helps families grow — but it also helps YOU grow,” she said. “Growth in empathy, social awareness, self-discovery, and a sense of purpose. Self-care is very important to continue to do this work. You’re pouring into others, but you also have to take care of yourself so you can keep doing the work.”
Greta Young, Executive Director of The Parenting Place said it best: “In every way, Sanquinita represents the very best of what a home visitor should be. She is compassionate, reliable, skilled, humble, and profoundly dedicated to the well-being of children and families. For her years of commitment, the lives she has strengthened, and the quiet but powerful leadership she demonstrates daily, she is truly deserving of recognition as National Home Visitor of the Year.”
“For more than twelve years, Sanquinita has been the steady heart of our home visiting program—a quiet hero whose compassion, strength, and unwavering presence have changed lives in ways that words can barely capture,” Greta continues. “Families do not just see her as a worker; they see her as someone they can trust with their fears, their heartbreak, and their hopes.”
That balance of compassion, resilience, and dedication is exactly why Sanquinita was chosen as one of this year’s National Home Visitor of the Year.
To learn more about The Parenting Place, visit https://tppupstate.org or Growing Great Kids here: https://www.greatkidsinc.org/
Healthy Families America: Healthy Families America (HFA) is one of the leading family support and evidence-based home visiting programs in the United States. Learn more at https://www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org/
National Home Visiting Week: Celebrating home visiting and the professionals who make this field special! National Home Visiting Week (NHVW), is a yearly observance to celebrate and recognize home visitors and the positive impact they make on maternal and child health outcomes. In 2025, the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals (Institute), an organization focused on strengthening home visiting and human service programs across the country, began this grassroots movement with nonprofit partners and elected officials across the country. The 2026 National Home Visiting Week will be held April 20-24, 2026 nationwide. Learn more at www.theinstitutefsp.org/nhvweek
Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals (Institute): The Institute is an organization focused on strengthening home visiting and human service programs across the country. The Institute offers home visitors and family support professionals everywhere the opportunity to learn new skills and grow their careers and is the national hub for personal growth, professional development and career advancement. Learn more at www.theinstitutefsp.org
#NHVW #NationalHomeVisitingWeek #NHVW2026 #HomeVisitingHeroes
Thank you to Molina Healthcare for providing 2026 corporate sponsorship, allowing us to provide a gift package to five home visitors across the country who we honor as National Home Visitors of the Year.