By Lucy Summers | Posted: Monday May 28, 2018
Providing support to expectant parents and parents of newborn and young children
Our Family Start programme is a free and voluntary home-visiting programme that provides support to pregnant mums and parents of newborn and young children.
The programme focuses on the health, education, safety and development of the child and supporting parents to achieve their goals.
Family Start will help:
Our whānau workers are committed to working alongside families, advocating, affirming and supporting parents in making positive choices for themselves and their children. A Family Start whānau worker will visit you at home, starting with once a week, and get to know you, your child, partner and whānau. They will find out what parts of being a parent you’ve already got sorted and what you need help with.
They will also help you to get the right health care for your child, support you to keep your child safe, explain how your child is growing and changing at different ages and help you work out what you want to achieve, change or improve.
Your worker will also make a plan with you to help you get there, offering advice and ideas to solve problems.
Call 0800 FAM CARE (0800 326 2273) or email us for more information about Family Start. We offer the Family Start programme throughout Otago.
You can be referred to Family Start by a healthcare professional or community worker, or you can refer yourself.