Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Healthy Families America (HFA) graduation ceremony. Healthy Families America is an evidence-based home visiting program that focuses on nurturing relationships and healthy development. Developed over 25 years, and based on extensive and ongoing research, the approach is relationship-based, culturally respectful, family-centered, and grounded in the parallel process: the relationships built with parents and families serve as a model for supporting the positive relationships between parents and their children.
This year’s graduation ceremony was fully virtual, with 18 families completing and graduating from the program- each enrolled for over four years- prenatally until their child is four.
Several graduates spoke during the ceremony and shared their experience in the program. Common among all of them, was the relationship that formed between the parent and their home visitor. Several moms shared how challenged and how many stressors they were experiencing when they began services. They gave credit to their home visitor to inspire and encourage them to achieve their goals and become the parents they are today.
We are so appreciative of our talented and dedicated staff and so proud of our families and all that they accomplished over the years. We have no doubt that their futures are brighter and look forward to all that they and their children will accomplish.
The Healthy Families America program has the research and data behind it to support what we believe at Children’s Friend: that children’s first relationships and earliest experiences lay the foundation for health and well-being throughout their entire lives.
Dana Mullen, MA
Chief of Programs