Partnering For A Healthy Baby is a home visitation program for new moms with a child from birth to one year of age. The program addresses the ages and stages of early development. Many referrals come from the maternal child RN who currently visits each newborn and from the local hospital maternity unit.

The Florida State University Partners For A Healthy Baby Home Visiting curriculum will be used. The curriculum is divided into two age groups: 0-6 months and 7-12 months. The series is based on research and knowledge of the importance of the prenatal and early years of life in laying a foundation for a healthy and successful future. The curriculum is designed to serve families with young infants to achieve multiple goals:

• To help families deal with the multitude of changes a new baby brings.
• To foster a strong bond between both parents and their baby.
• To inspire families to maximize their baby's health, social, cognitive, language and motor development.
• To identify early signs of problems.
• To enhance parenting skills and self-esteem.

Family participants will receive one to two visits per month in their home for the infant's first year of life. The Parent Educator will make the home visits, reviewing 2 to 4 weeks of curriculum at each visit, depending upon the parents' needs and availability. A family determined to be high risk will receive more frequent visits.

This is an Empowerment funded program. Through state and federal funding, our Empowerment area supports programs for families in Henry County with children 0-5 years of age. The Empowerment mission is to ensure that every child, beginning at birth, will be healthy and successful.