Healthy Families

Healthy Families is a statewide program that is funded and administered by the Children's Trust Fund (CTF), a Boston-based child advocacy group, and is based on the national model of Healthy Families America. The program, which serves approximately 140 teen and first-time parents each year, is free to participants. The goals of the program are to:

• Prevent child abuse and neglect
• Achieve optimal health, growth, and development in infancy and early childhood
• Encourage educational attainment and economic self-sufficiency among parents
• Prevent repeat pregnancies during the teen years

The program is unique because it approaches its work with families from a strengths-based perspective as opposed to a deficit model. It is a family-centered, community-conscious, culturally sensitive service. It is also a parent-driven program, providing intensive home visiting, beginning with once a week and moving toward once a month as the participant becomes more self-sufficient.

Using various assessment tools, the program identifies risks, strengths and needs. Healthy Families provides home visits, child development screenings, parent education and support groups (ex: breastfeeding, safety, literacy), parent infant/child interaction groups, family-focused social and celebratory events, resource and referrals (especially for schools, child care, and housing). Families participate in field trips to museums, zoos, libraries and parks, connecting them to the community.

The Healthy Families program serves participants in Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan, Allston, Brighton, West Roxbury, Kenmore, Fenway, Back Bay, Chinatown, Downtown Boston and Brookline. Participants are referred from local social service agencies serving families and young children, maternity hospitals and clinics, high schools, early intervention programs, as well as by friends and family, or by self-referral.