Healthy Families Program

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Healthy Families is a voluntary, no-fee program that works with young families to strengthen their parenting skills and become responsible community members.
  
Over 1,000 people are screened yearly to determine eligibility and the FYSB staff conducts home visits to over 250 families throughout the year for this program.
  
Healthy Families is a national program that seeks to identify families whose current life circumstances suggest that additional support might be helpful as they begin caring for their newborns. With virtually universal screening through hospitals serving Porter County residents and with the cooperation of WIC, the Porter County Public Health Department, area OB-Gyn practices and others, this voluntary program is provided at no charge to the families.
 
Those families that qualify for home visiting services are assigned a staff member who will provide support for the family such as child development curriculum, age related activities, and referrals to community resources. Services are offered through the babies’ third birthday.
 
The FYSB staff member works with each family to establish a Family Goal Plan, setting goals to address the needs of the child and other family members as requested.
 
“The plan we develop with each family is tailored to their needs,” states Melanie Dooley, former Director of Prevention and Early Intervention Services. “One family may need help with daily living, such as information about housing or an energy assistance program, while another may want to study for a GED or take classes.

 
We work with each family so that we can provide the best possible foundation for their young child.

A constant of the Healthy Families Program is the developmental screening offered to families, so the child is tested at regular intervals to determine if they are developing age appropriate skills. 

“We work with parents to promote the child’s development by consistently providing curriculum and other learning tools. If a child is behind in any area of their development, we can catch it early and help parents learn ways to encourage growth in that area so the child has the best chance to have the right skill level for their age group.”

Referrals are also made to the family pediatrician or appropriate agency as needed.
 
The Healthy Families Program has been in place at FYSB since 1997, and the agency is recognized statewide and nationally as a leader in this type of programming.
 
For more information about the program, please contact Sheryl Chambers at 219-763-6623 or schambers@fysb.org.