Healthy Start/Healthy Families

What is Healthy Start/Healthy Families?
 
Healthy Start/Healthy Families Support is a voluntary home visitation/family support program offering services to all new families during the prenatal period and/or at the time of birth.
 
Families with few, if any, risk characteristics are offered short-term assistance. More intensive family support services extending through the early childhood years are reserved for families whose multiple characteristics place them at risk for poor child and family outcomes.
 
Healthy Start/Healthy Families is designed to increase the number of children ready for school, increase parenting skills, improve the family's support system and family functioning, and decrease the likelihood of child maltreatment. A comprehensive assessment system is used to systematically identify high-risk families. An independent evaluation is performed annually by Oregon State University's Family Policy Program.

What is the Healthy Start/Healthy Families Advisory Board?

The Douglas County Healthy Start/Healthy Families Advisory Board advises the local program, and reports to the Douglas County Commission on Children & Families (DCCF) its recommendations in planning, implementation, policies, and assessment of Healthy Start/Healthy Families program services, and the role of Healthy Start/Healthy Families in Douglas County’s local early childhood system of supports and services.  Each county is required to have a local Healthy Start/Healthy Families Advisory Committee, which may be the local Early Childhood Team.

The Healthy Start/Healthy Families Advisory Board has a wide range of skills and abilities and provides a heterogeneous mix of skills, strengths, community knowledge, professions, age, race, sex, gender, and ethnicity.  Membership includes direct representation by community members, including a representative of the medical profession, and program participants.  Healthy Start/Healthy Families providers/contractors/staff may provide Healthy Start/Healthy Families program information to the Healthy Start/Healthy Families Advisory Board but may not participate in board decisions on advising the program or preparing reports to the DCCF.

Douglas County's Healthy Start/Healthy Families Advisory Board is chaired by Steve Schenewerk of Douglas County Commission on Children & Families.  Members include the following:

Council Chair:

Steve Schenewerk,
Douglas County  Commission on Children & Families

Staff:

Director,
Douglas County Commission on Children & Families
541-957-4622

Management Analyst,
Douglas County Commission on Children & Families
541-957-4622

Address:
1036 SE Douglas
Room 7
Roseburg, OR  97470

Fax: 541-957-4648

Policy & Procedures:

State Commission on Children & Families - 2007 Policy & Procedures Manual