PARTNERS IN
HOPE
“Family Lifeline really has been a lifeline,” says Heather. “It has kept me grounded. It’s been affirming and validating of where I was at. I’m no expert. I’m still figuring things out. And it’s nice to know that my instinct is correct most of the time.”
Family Lifeline’s Growing Well programming is grounded in the principle that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, advocates, and protectors. We empower and uplift, knowing that, given the right support and resources, all families have the ability to thrive.
Early Childhood Home Visiting
Children don't come with instructions. We're here to help. Our Growing Well programming provides intensive home visitation services to support expecting families and families parenting young children. Our early childhood home visiting programming is person-centered and trauma informed. Services are also free, voluntary, and available until children reach school age.
Research shows that early childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a direct impact on health, development, and lifelong learning. Our early childhood programs work to prevent adverse childhood experiences by increasing family resilience and building on protective factors. We work in partnership with families to increase overall well-being, achieve stability, and ensure that their children are healthy, safe and ready to succeed in school, work and life.
Visits are provided 2 to 4 times per month, last approximately an hour, and typically occur in a family’s home.
Recognizing that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, we utilize three best practice home visiting models when partnering with families:
Parents as Teachers is a voluntary early childhood development program offering research-based curricula that help families raise children to be healthy, safe, learning and ready for school.
The Parents as Teachers model is a unique combination of research, education and empowerment. In practice, our methods are proven to help caregivers connect with their child’s early development and build a lifetime foundation for academic success.
PARTNERS IN
HEALTH
“When she comes, she always has activities for Eliana,” Davonda says. “She always brings good resources.” At each visit, De’Naja checks in with the family to make sure they have the support and resources they need to effectively manage Eliana’s asthma. “The main thing is asthma education for mom and dad,” De’Naja explains. “They can pass the knowledge on to their children, even after the child graduates from programming.”
Asthma Case Management
Environmental and socioeconomic factors make Richmond one of the most challenging places to live with asthma. Family Lifeline partners with families in their homes to ensure that children with asthma have the support and resources they need to grow up healthy.
At each home visit, Family Lifeline's Certified Community Health Worker (CHW) offers asthma education, connection to resources, and works with the family to identify and address asthma triggers in the household. The CHW also coordinates an asthma action plan with the child's family and healthcare provider.
Asthma case management services are free, voluntary, and available for children up to age 18.
Goals for our Growing Well programs:
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Improving maternal health and birth outcomes
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Optimizing healthy, age appropriate child growth and development
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Strengthening positive parenting knowledge and behavior
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Preventing childhood injuries and cases of abuse and neglect
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Promoting family functioning and overall well-being
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Improving life course outcomes – two generations at a time
Our multidisciplinary Growing Well team
Growing Well Services
Family Lifeline utilizes a person-centered care approach to providing services. Our families are equal partners in planning, developing, and monitoring care to ensure it meets their needs. The services offered could include any or all of the following:
Coordination, problem-solving and follow-up activities that enable parents to better secure appropriate resources, manage household needs and responsibilities, and/or ensure consistent improvement on non-medical issues.
Case
Management
This is a collaborative
process with the family that links the family to services and resources in a coordinated manner. It facilitates communication amongst the professionals providing services to the family and avoids
duplication of
services.
Care
Coordination
Families are introduced to educational activities which promote positive parenting. This includes providing information or conducting activities that help parents to develop routines, manage their child’s behavior, enhance school readiness, and much more.
Education
& Support
Health screenings are conducted, health concerns are identified and families are linked to a medical and dental home. Educational activities enable parents to better understand the health care needs of their children and themselves.
Health
Supervision
Screening tools that are validated are used to assess family, child, and/or household needs and strengths. This information informs the development of a service plan.
Screening
Families are referred to the appropriate community resources and supports based on their identified needs.
Referral &
Resource
Connections
Parents in partnership with their parent educators identity goals and work on goals to support not only their child’s learning, but their own self-development for completing school, entering the workforce, and connecting with other needed resources.
Service Planning &
Goal Setting
All early childhood staff are trained in Motivational Interviewing, an empathetic approach that considers the difficulty of making any life change. Parents are screened for depression, substance use and intimate partner violence and referrals are made as needed.