Show All Answers

1. What is a Family Support Program?

Trained Health Educators guide families through their pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life using the evidence-based home visitation model Partners for a Healthy Baby. Your Family Support partner works with parents in supporting their child’s development by providing insight, information, and resources, as well as developmental screenings.

• Partners for a Healthy Baby website

2. What is the goal of Family Support?

Health Educators help women to have a healthy pregnancy and healthy birth and focus on parent-child interactions, developmental-centered parenting, and family well-being.

3. Why are services provided primarily in the home?

Services are provided to the client in their home for client convenience and to stimulate a positive parent-child relationship in their own environment.

4. What other supports do health educators provide to families?

Pregnant women are connected to prenatal care providers and receive ongoing education about fetal development and healthy behaviors that can impact birth outcomes. Clients are referred to various community resources as needed and provided with assistance to access those services.  

• Arizona Department of Health Services - Health Start Program website
• Partners for a Healthy Baby website
• Strong Families AZ

5. What is the Health Start Program?

Trained Health Educators guide women through their pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life using a proven home visitation model, bringing program services to the client as needed, including:

• Guidance and support about pregnancy, labor and delivery, and parenting using the Partners for a Healthy Baby curriculum.
• Breastfeeding support and education provided by trained personnel.
• Depression assessment to determine if client may need further assistance beyond dealing with the baby blues.
• Developmental screening and assessment known as Ages and Stages completed on infants and children to determine the need for further evaluation of special needs that the child may have.
• Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) assessment on each new client to determine if further evaluation or support is needed.
• Health and home safety assessments to assure healthy and safe surroundings in the home of a newborn/child.
• Lay counseling and education on a variety of maternal child health issues, provision of referrals to other programs as needed.
• Car seat safety classes are available to the Health Start families and to the public. Car seats are given when available to current Health Start Families
• The program also offers prenatal classes and play groups in clients' neighborhoods.