Healthy Families Jacksonville holds first graduation

IMG_4660Eight kids and their parents graduated from the Healthy Families Jacksonville program on September 28, one year after the Coalition was awarded the contract for the program. The graduation took place at Healthy Families’ monthly member gathering.

Healthy Families is a nationally-accredited family support and coaching program that helps parents provide the safe and stable environments children need for healthy growth and development. The evidence-based program is voluntarily and the participants receive the services in their home by specially-trained support workers.

The Coalition received the contract to administer the Healthy Families program in October 2016 from the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, who put the program out to bid last summer because it was struggling to meet performance numbers and outcomes. Since then, program staff have improved their numbers and ensured families are receiving critical home visiting services. The program was recognized in February for enrolling 49 new families, the highest enrollment of any of the 35 Healthy Families programs in the state, and a Family Assessment Worker will be recognized this month for her high enrollment numbers.

IMG_4728Healthy Families serves families living in Duval County in targeted zip codes: 32202, 32204, 32205, 32206, 32207, 32208, 32209, 32210, 32211, 32216, 32217, 32218, 32219, 32220, 32221, 32225, 32226, 32233, 32244, 32246, 32250, 32254, 32256, 32257 and 32277. To be eligible for the Healthy Families program, participants must be pregnant or have an infant less than three months of age; live in a targeted geographic service delivery area; score 13 or above on the Healthy Start screen. Families can receive services up to age five.