Healthy Families
Economic stress, inadequate health and child care place pressures on families. The con-sequences for children can be child abuse and neglect, poor nutrition, low immunization rates and lack of school readiness. Healthy Families is designed to improve child health and development and reduce child abuse and neglect. The program serves first time families starting during prenatal visits up until the child is five years of age. Registration with the program occurs from prenatal through two weeks old. Families are given a “Welcome Baby Tool Kit” at the hospital immediately following the birth of a child. The kit has resources and information for new parents.
The majority of Healthy Families efforts are conducted by Family Support Workers who conduct home visitation to assess the family’s situation and provide individual assistance. By preventing child abuse and neglect, Healthy Families helps to prevent children from entering into the foster care system. The passage of the State Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) in 1993 requires Newport News to fund approximately 28 percent of the cost of providing these children with foster care, special education, residential care, in-home services and counseling. The total cost for these services in Newport News has increased from $3.7 million in fiscal year 1994 to $15 in fiscal year 1998. Since 1998 these costs have been reduced by approximately 15 percent through effective management controls to $12.8 million in fiscal year 2006. In fiscal year 2006 the State and Federal governments reimbursed $8.5 million of the City’s $12.8 million cost. It is also essential that the City invest in the prevention of child maltreatment which can reduce the need for more expensive intervention for children and families at a later date.