Cornerstones’ Healthy Families program, falling under the umbrella of Healthy Families America, works with expectant mothers and parents of children up to 36 months who have been referred to the program from the Department of Health and Human Services. These parents are referred because they have presented background factors that may make them at-risk of abusing and/or neglecting their children. These factors can include experiencing great domestic stress or violence, having debilitating physical or mental ailments, being substance abusers, being teen parents or having been raised in households where they themselves were abused or neglected.
Maria is one such parent who has benefited from the care of Healthy Families. Maria was still a teenager when she delivered a baby girl. Her baby struggled with low weight and height over a difficult two-year period. With the continued and dedicated help of a Family Support Worker, Maria and her family now follow a strict dietary plan provided by a nutritionist and gastroenterologist, and her daughter has been able to reach all her developmental milestones on time!
The preventative measures taken by parents, who volunteer for the program, and the Healthy Families family support workers, enable them to achieve milestones that build their confidence as parents, and maximizes their ability to raise children in a healthy, stable environment.
Learn more about Cornerstones’ advocacy success to restore funding to Healthy Families.
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