Bright Beginnings has been providing Healthy Families services to families in Hillsborough County since 1998.

Families of newborns, who live within targeted zip codes and are experiencing stressful life situations, are offered services to make a better life for their children.  Bright Beginnings’ Healthy Families Family Support Workers build a relationship with the families to promote strong, healthy foundations in their children. Services begin prenatally or at birth, and can continue with varying levels of support until the child reaches 5 years of age, or they graduate from the program.

Bright Beginnings’ Healthy Families Family Support Workers work with families to:

• Promote health and well-being of mother and child, both prenatally and after the child is born.
• Teach and Model effective parent and child interaction to encourage strong bonding, attachment and stimulation that enhances child development.
• Teach and Model stimulation for optimal developmental growth, including  brain development, through the “Growing Great Kids” curriculum.
• Teach child safety and injury prevention.
• Teach and Model effective parenting skills for each stage of early childhood.
• Enhance parents’ problem-solving skills.
• Prevention of child abuse and neglect.
• Support parents and enhance access to other health and family support services.
• Encourage family stabilization, growth and success through goal setting and achievement.

The Healthy Families Program has a proven track record in preventing child abuse and neglect.  It is based on well-researched critical elements that represent best practice standards in home visitation services.

Healthy Families Hillsborough builds on and coordinates with other home visitation and family support services such as Florida’s Healthy Start Initiative, Head Start, Florida First Start and Parents as Teachers.

The Healthy Families Hillsborough program is funded locally, by The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and through the privatization of State of Florida funding through the Ounce of Prevention.  The Healthy Start Coalition serves as the lead agency for the program in Hillsborough County.

For more information on Healthy Families Florida and Healthy Families Hillsborough, visit www.healthystartcoalition.org

Click here to read Success Stories from this program.

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