| In 1993, the National
Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (now called Prevent Child Abuse
America) reported that the District of Columbia was among the top
10 States for child maltreatment. To combat their problem, Healthy
Families DC (HFDC), a Healthy Families America site, was
established in 1994 with support from the Freddie Mac Foundation.
HFDC identifies and assesses first-time, overburdened families
during the prenatal period and continues to provide home visitation
for up to 5 years. HFDC's mission is to ensure that children are
healthy, safe, and ready for school through home visitation,
long-term partnering with families, and linkages to community
resources. Implemented through a collaborative involving a maternal
and child health clinic, a child welfare agency, and a child
development center, HFDC's goals are to (1) systematically assess
all first-time families (in Wards 1 and 2); (2) prevent child abuse
and neglect; (3) foster positive parenting and successful
parent-child interactions; (4) improve birth outcomes, child
health, child development and school readiness; and (5) improve
family functioning and life outcomes. HFDC began providing
intensive home visitation services to 50 families in April 1995 and
will enroll a minimum of 50 new families each year. HFDC provides
intensive, ongoing training for its paraprofessional staff, and
utilizes tested, culturally appropriate child development and
parenting materials. |
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