Our Approach
At Healthy Families America (HFA), our programs are rooted in a deep evidence base, a focus on relationships, flexibility, and comprehensive training…this is what drives our success.
Developed over 25 years and based on extensive and ongoing research, our approach is relationship-based, culturally respectful, family-centered, and grounded in the parallel process: the relationships we build with parents and families serve as a model for the supporting, positive relationships we help them cultivate with their children.
HFA has yielded positive results across a spectrum of communities of varying geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. HFA programs operate across the United States and internationally, and home visits are conducted in dozens of languages.
Our comprehensive accreditation and training program is designed to ensure affiliates implement the HFA model to fidelity, guaranteeing that families receive quality care.
How HFA Works
Family Connections
Once a family becomes interested in receiving services, HFA staff will reach out to learn more about their current needs, and also explore their strengths. At HFA, it’s all about relationships, and the first job of staff is to build a strong connection with the families being served.
Voluntary Enrollment
After learning more about each family’s unique situation, HFA staff will recommend services for families based on their needs—from home visiting to additional community connections. Regardless of the recommendations our staff offer, HFA is always voluntary.
Home Visiting
Should home visiting services be recommended, HFA staff will work with families long-term. Most families are offered services for a minimum of three years, and are visited weekly at the start. Services are culturally respectful, and home visitors are chosen on the basis of their ability to establish trusting relationships with participating families.
HFA works because we pay attention to each family’s
story and shape our work around their interests,
questions, concerns, and cultural expectations and
norms.We recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all
approach to supporting families, so our focus on the
relationship between the parent/caregiver and child
means that we approach each family in a uniquely
supportive way.
The HFA Toolkit
HFA programs, when implemented to fidelity, consistently yield positive outcomes for families because they are flexible and reflective, built around a robust evidence base, and designed to incorporate a wide range of tools proven to help cultivate healthy parent-child relationships, including:
Child Development Resources
Many parents wonder about when their child should walk, talk, and be potty trained. With HFA parents can obtain all the information they need to know about child development milestones, and each step will be celebrated along the way.
Family Goal Planning
Home visitors and parents collaborate to set meaningful and attainable goals, taking into consideration family values and their hopes and dreams for the future.
Prenatal Support
When families are enrolled prenatally, HFA staff help families build a strong foundation for parenthood. Research has demonstrated that HFA prenatal home visiting improves birth outcomes and infant health.
Maternal & Child Healthcare
HFA staff work to remove barriers in accessing healthcare, enabling families to obtain health insurance, connect to primary care providers, and travel to the doctor when necessary.
Service Planning
Based on the initial conversation with families, a personalized service plan will be created for each family. This ensures all questions and concerns don’t get lost along the way.
Trusted Support
With HFA, families will always have ‘someone in their corner’ to support them as they navigate the joys and struggles of parenthood.
Relationship Building
HFA staff are relationship builders. They build strong bonds with families and teach parents how to develop strong and secure connections with their children.
Parent Support Groups
Ongoing access to parent support groups helps combat depression due to isolation and promotes positive parenting practices.
Referrals to Community Resources
HFA partners with other local community organizations to provide referrals to medical providers, child development specialists, legal services, career development services, educational services, and much more.
Serving Families Across the Prevention Continuum
Our Accelerated and Child Welfare Protocols provide affiliates the flexibility intended to bring HFA services to families as effectively as possible.
Learn more about each below, or explore our full continuum of services.
Child Welfare Protocols
The HFA home visiting model allows sites to meet the needs of some of the highest-risk families in their communities.
Accelerated Protocols
The HFA model allows low-risk families to move through the program at their own pace and in less time while still receiving the same level of support and service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! 100%. All the time.
Each HFA site can determine their criteria for eligibility. Contact your local site to find out if you are eligible for services.
No…HFA is always free for families.
Great question. HFA home visits always start like a visit with a friend who checks in on what’s happened since the last time you were together.
Likely, home visitors will develop other activities based based on topics parents have asked to learn more about, such as child development (When will my baby start to crawl? When can by baby see colors?) or health and safety topics (How should I move things around in my house now that my baby is crawling? Is it safe to bring my baby to the pool?).
Home visitors are always prepared to give families additional resources—if families indicate it would be helpful—such as referrals to a local food bank or information about getting a library card.
Many programs have parenting groups, which are a great way to get to know other parents in the community. HFA staff have a wealth of knowledge about what is available in the local community, and will make sure families can access any additional benefits that are available.
You can apply to become an affiliate and offer HFA services in your own community…start by following the link below:
Want to contact us?
Interested in learning more about our home visiting programs or helping transform childhoods and communities? Get in touch—we’ll respond as quickly as we can.