For Providers and Agencies

The Family Connects Model

Family Connects is a systems level transformation model that uses an evidence-based, newborn nurse home visiting program to provide services to families and children, assist in aligning resources, and maximizes population reach through its universal implementation within a community.

Family Connects New Orleans is a companion service rather than redundant or competitor of established health and service programs already in place in the community. As such, the IHV offered through FCNO can be a great opportunity to reinforce the supports/ messages / directives of those programs - including newborn pediatric care.

The FCNO visit is timed to be just in advance of the one month well-baby visit generally provided by a newborn's pediatrician, and can therefore reinforce the need to keep that appointment and help the family plan to ensure that this 
appointment is productive by identifying issues or areas of concern to be discussed. Any such findings can also be communicated directly to the pediatrician’s office.

 

Family Connects is a companion service...

It is not established to replace a healthcare provider or a 6 week postpartum checkup. Instead, Family Connects New Orleans will collaborate with the provider and pediatrician to reinforce the supports/ messages / directives of those providers.

The GOALS of Family Connects are:

1. To connect with a birthing person and/or caregiver to enhance parental/caregiver skills and self-efficacy

2. To assess each family’s unique strengths and needs

3. To connect the family with needed community services (i.e., health care, childcare, financial or
social support) to promote family functioning and child well-being

The Community Alignment Approach

The Family Connects model is an evidence-based approach to supporting all newborns and their families. Community alignment is a core component of the model. It is critical to the success of the program to understand the needs of families and capacity of service providers to meet those needs.

The goal is to improve the accuracy and efficiency of connecting families with the right service, at the right time, in the right amount. This starts before the first home visit occurs
by reviewing available information, engaging in discussions with parents and providers, and developing communication pathways and key partnerships through a system of feedback loops to ensure the nurses have access to updated contact and capacity information for community agencies. 

Why it Works

Through Family Connects, all families in a community have the opportunity for a trained, registered nurse to visit them at home. The program provides between one and three nurse home visits to every family with a newborn beginning at about three weeks of age, regardless of income or demographic risk. Using a tested screening tool, the nurse measures newborn and maternal health and assesses strengths and needs to link the family to community resources. Helping parents connect with their infants helps them for life and community-wide eligibility is the only route to population change.

Our aim is to create systems change at the population level — to advance the well being of all children and their families. We work to:

• Ensure that families have a medical home

• Provide physical- and mental-health screenings

• Assess family strengths and needs comprehensively

• Connect families to community resources that support their individual family needs and preferences