Are you eligible for a free nurse home visit?
To be eligible, you must:
- Have delivered your baby at Ascension Seton Main on 38th St or St. David’s South on Ben White Blvd, OR
- Be eligible for WIC benefits
Goals of Family Connects Austin/Travis County:
- Connect with every family in their home after the birth of a newborn.
- Offer supportive guidance to families, responding specifically to questions about newborn care.
- Link families to community services based on their individual needs and preferences.
- Help new parents connect with their infant, supporting child development and improving overall family well-being.
Bridging the gap
Research shows that 90 percent of all families have needs after the birth of a child. These needs are unique to each family. Family Connects Austin/Travis County has been shown to improve family well-being, including reducing emergency medical care for infants and improving parent behavior and child care selection.
The program provides between one in three nurse home visits to every family with a newborn beginning at about three weeks of age, regardless of income. Using a tested screening tool, the nurse measures newborn and maternal health and assesses strengths and needs to link the family to community resources.
Research has shown that when families participate in Family Connects, mothers feel less anxious, parents learn about quality child care options and babies need less emergency care at hospitals. That is good for babies, families and the whole community.
History of Family Connects
The Family Connects model was developed in Durham, North Carolina and was born out of community need. In 2001, the Duke Endowment approached the director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy and challenged them to improve child outcomes and specifically to reduce childhood maltreatment and neglect in Durham. From that charge, the Durham Connects model was developed and it was piloted in 2008 with the goal of creating a replicable and sustainable model to be used in other communities.
The Durham Connects program was studied in two rigorous randomized controlled trials, the results of which have been published in highly-regarded journals including Pediatrics and the American Journal of Public Health. The evidence was clear, a universal nurse-home visiting program has significant impact on several outcomes.