HealthyStart
Healthy Start is a home visiting program that provides one-on-one support throughout a woman’s pregnancy.
This free program is designed to meet the individual needs of each participant to ensure that every baby has a healthy start.
Healthy Start offers a variety of services at no charge:
- Community Connect (CI&R), and Home Visiting Services
- Preventative & Developmental Screenings
- Safe Sleep Education & Resources
- Baby Clothing, Diapers, Blankets and more
- Childbirth & Parenting Education
- Breastfeeding Education & Support
- Smoking Cessation Assistance
- Community Referrals
Who is eligible?
Pregnant women and children up to age three
How to Enroll
Say YES to The Florida Prenatal Screen on your first prenatal visit and yes to the The Florida Infant Screen at the hospital or birth center. If you are not offered the either screen — ask for it!
Healthy Start is a community-based program for expectant and new mothers, infants through age three, and inter-conceptional women; it is designed to help participants have healthy pregnancies and babies through the following:
Community Connect (Coordinated Intake and Referral): Well-trained and knowledgeable staff and providers connect with pregnant women and new moms once they have completed a Florida Prenatal or Florida Infant Screen form or a community referral has been received. Intake Coordinators provide brief education, either via telephone or face-to-face, as well as connection to local home visiting services and other necessary resources.
Home Visiting Services: Through our Community Connect process we provide individualized maternal and child health education and personal choice for home visiting services and other community resources to help ensure they are linked to and access appropriate prenatal and pediatric health, as well as support services.
In addition, Healthy Start provides wrap-around support services, including:
- Breastfeeding Education and Support
- Childbirth Education
- Parenting Education
Who is eligible to participate & how much does it cost?
Services for pregnant women regardless of their marital or economic status are eligible to participate, which is free and voluntary. This includes postpartum women and their newborns up to age 3.
The screening and program are free and answers are confidential; they will only be used to help you have the best possible care for your pregnancy and baby.