Healthy Families Jacksonville

Healthy Families Jacksonville is a voluntary family support program designed to ease the transition to parenthood.  Services focus on improving the outcomes for children and families residing in the targeted zip codes of 32206, 32207, 32211, 32225, 32233, 32277, 32246, 32250, 32256, 32257, 32216 and 32217.  Although there is a “target” child, the program engages and serves the entire household/ family for over 250 families.

HFJ offers a variety of services to parents and their families. The appropriate service is identified by engaging the family in an extensive, objective assessment process that begins with the Healthy Start Risk Assessment Tool and concludes with services provided by a trained Family Assessment Worker. The purpose is to systematically identify overburdened families to determine if the family could benefit from intensive home visitation.
 
The services are designed around the strengths of the family and the Family Support Workers assist the family with attaining a safe positive outcome of their pregnancy, develop positive parent/child interactions and facilitate the attainment of normal growth and developmental milestones.

Intensive home visitation is initiated during the prenatal period or within two weeks of the infant’s birth.  Services may last until the child is five years old or enters a formal school setting.  

HFJ aims to achieve several goals:

• Improving the health status of pregnant women, mothers, fathers, infants, and children
• Reducing infant mortality
• Reducing child abuse and neglect
• Promoting healthy growth and development, safety and school readiness for children less than five years of age
• Promoting healthy family functioning and positive parent/child interaction. readiness for children less than five years of age