Direct Services
Provides free homevisiting services statewide for high risk pregnant women and new mothers with depression screening and referral services.
Healthy Families is a statewide, nationally accredited, voluntary home visiting program that is proven to prevent child abuse and neglect before it ever starts. Healthy Families services begin during pregnancy or within three months of a baby's birth and can last for up to five years depending on the unique needs of each family.
Services:
The program equips parents and other caregivers with the knowledge and skills they need to create stable home environments free from child abuse and neglect so their children can grow up healthy, safe, nurtured, and ready to succeed in school and in life.
Trained home visitors provide parents and other caregivers information, guidance and emotional and practical support by:
- Modeling positive parent-child interaction to enhance their child's development.
- Providing educaiton on child health and development and the importance of immunixations and well-baby check-ups.
- Teaching about sage and unsafe sleeping environments for infants, coping with crying and other prevention topics.
- Conducting child screenings for developmental delays using the ASQ and ASQ:SE
- Screening mothers using thee Edinburgh Postnatal depression scale
- Connecting families to medical providers and making referrals to other community services
- Teaching how to recognize and address child safety hazards in and around the home, in the car, in and around water and in other environments
- Helping to develop appropriate problem-solving skills and identify positive ways to manage stress
- Promoting personal responsibility for their future and the future of their families by helping them to set and achieve goals, such as furthering their education and acquiring stable employment
