1. ”Supporting Parents Right from the Start”
healthy families
NEW YORK
Citizen Review Panel
October 11, 2018
”Supporting Parents Right from the Start”

2. About HFNY
Voluntary home visiting program for expectant and new parents.
Long-term in-home supportive services until the child is in school or Head Start.

3. HFNY GOALS
Promote positive parenting skills and parent-child bonding and interaction
Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect
Promote optimal prenatal care and child health and development
Enhance family self-sufficiency

4. About HFNY Reaches out to isolated families.
Offers weekly visits until the baby is at least six months old, then less often as the family’s stability increases.
Promotes optimal child health
Assesses children for developmental delays.
Works with parents to achieve family self- sufficiency.

5. Multi-Site System
Collaboration of state, local, private, and publicly funded primary prevention home visiting programs affiliated with each other and with Healthy Families America (HFA). 
43 Healthy Families Programs throughout New York State including 15 in New York City.

6. New York State

7. Central Administration

8. Program Demographics
HFNY targets many high need communities that have high poverty, low birth weights, high teen pregnancy rates, and little or no prenatal care, to ensure that children are properly cared for before and after their birth.

9. Referral Process
Families are referred to HFNY through community health and social service agencies and hospitals.
HFNY programs screen parents for risk factors, late or no prenatal care, young parent, single parent, inadequate income and other stressors, that may be predictive of child abuse and neglect.
Parents who screen positive are offered an assessment. The assessment provides the program with information, and leads to referrals to assist the family, and may include a referral to home visiting.

10. Home Visiting
Home Visiting is conducted by trained staff called Family Support Specialists.
These staff provide families with support, education and linkages to community services that can help fulfill the program goals as well as the individual family goals.

11. Home Visiting
Home visits are scheduled approximately every 2 weeks during the pregnancy and weekly during the first 6 months of the child’s life.
As families progress through the program, the frequency of visits declines.

12. Strength-Based Service Delivery
HFNY uses a strength-based service delivery model as a method to motivate and keep families involved with the program.
This means:
What is going well with the family
Do not rescue program participants, but by exploring competencies and resources with the participant.
distinguish unacceptable situations from disagreeable ones.
Services are done from a basis of shared expertise

13. Evidenced Based
HFA designated by HOMEVEE selected by HRSA to be included in MIECHV
HFNY designated by RAND as proven program