This program is for new or expectant parents who are at risk for child maltreatment and who live in New York state and is intended to impact parents and children.

Healthy Families New York (HFNY), a community- and family-based home visitation program, is designed to decrease and prevent child abuse and neglect, increase parental competence and parent-child interaction, encourage healthy child development, and foster family self-sufficiency.

An internal randomized trial of this program suggests several positive outcomes associated with program participation. Compared to members of a control group, some program participants were more likely to use positive parenting strategies and less likely to engage in harsh parenting practices or to abuse or neglect their children. In addition, pregnant participants were less likely to give birth to low birth weight babies. However, the findings related to parenting practices were somewhat inconsistent and were primarily limited to specific subgroups within the sample of each study. Longer-term follow-ups conducted at 7 years indicated lower mother-reported prevalence and frequency of nonviolent discipline and less severe or very severe physical assault and lower child-reported prevalence of minor physical assault. However, there was divergence between mother- and child-reported outcomes, and there was no significant intervention effect on Child Protective Services’ (CPS) reports. A subgroup analysis found that, among mothers who had been investigated for child maltreatment prior to enrolling in the program, HFNY mothers were the confirmed subject in fewer subsequent CPS reports than mothers in the control group.

The HFNY program uses paraprofessionals who have been trained as Family Support Workers (FSWs) to establish relationships with expectant or new parents and teach and support parents during the early stages of their child's life. This program is implemented through home visits and begins during the mother's pregnancy and continues up to the child's 5th year.

During home visits, FSWs help parents find and access community resources, including medical providers, to encourage parental competency and ensure child and mother health. FSWs also use established curricula to teach parents how to bond and develop relationships with their children to support positive child development and help prevent child abuse. Throughout the program, FSWs monitor children for signs of developmental delays.

HFNY was created in 1995 and is currently being implemented at numerous sites in New York.

A 4-day training is required for FSWs and is conducted by Prevent Child Abuse New York. Please visit https://www.healthyfamiliesnewyork.org/Training/training_desc.htm for more information.

Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring buy-in from parents, obtaining committed individuals to become FSWs, ensuring facilitators receive training, establishing a mutually convenient and consistent time for home visits, and understanding that yearly program costs per family can be expensive.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing HFNY, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Home visits begin during the mother's pregnancy and take place twice a week until the child is 6 months old. At 6 months, home visits decrease to once a week and, then eventually, become quarterly until the child is 5 years old or enrolled in kindergarten or a Head Start program.

Implementation costs are generally $4,000 to $5,000 a year per family.

To move HFNY to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating consistent positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185     Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact the New York State Office of Children and Family Services by mail Bureau of Program and Community Development, 52 Washington Street, North Building, 3rd Floor, Rensselaer, NY 12144, fax 1-518-402-6824, or visit https://www.healthyfamiliesnewyork.org/Contact/ocfs.htm

https://www.healthyfamiliesnewyork.org/ and DuMont et al. (2008).

DuMont, K., Mitchell-Herzfeld, S., Greene, R., Lee, E., Lowenfels, A., Rodriguez, M., & Dorabawila, V. (2008). Healthy Families New York (HFNY) randomized trial: Effects on early child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(3), 295-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.07.007

Kirkland, K., Lee, E., Smith, C., & Greene, R. (2020). Sustained impact on parenting practices: Year 7 findings from the Healthy Families New York randomized controlled trial. Prevention Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01110-w

Lee, E., Kirkland, K., Miranda-Julian, C., & Greene, R. (2018). Reducing maltreatment recurrence through home visitation: A promising intervention for child welfare involved families. Child Abuse & Neglect, 86, 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.09.004

Lee, E., Mitchell-Herzfeld, S., Lowenfels, A. A., Greene, R., Dorabawila, V., & DuMont, K. A. (2009). Reducing low birth weight through home visitation: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(2), 154-160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.029

Rodriguez, M. L., Dumont, K., Mitchell-Herzfeld, S., Walden, N. J., & Greene, R. (2010). Effects of Healthy Families New York on the promotion of maternal parenting competencies and the prevention of harsh parenting. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(10), 711-723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.03.004

McGinnis, S., Lee, E., Kirkland, K., Miranda-Julian, C., & Greene, R. (2018). Let’s talk about breastfeeding: The importance of delivering a message in a home visiting program. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(4), 989-996. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117117723802

McGinnis, S., Lee, E., Kirkland, K., Smith, C., Miranda-Julian, C., & Greene, R. (2019). Engaging at-risk fathers in home visiting services: Effects on program retention and father involvement. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 36(2), 189-200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-018-0562-4