Healthy Start

What is Healthy Start?
 
Healthy Start Family 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 is designed to increase the number of children ready for school, increasing parenting skills, improving the family's support system and family functioning, and decreasing 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 Advisory Board?

The Douglas County Healthy Start 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 program services, and the role of Healthy Start in Douglas County’s local early childhood system of supports and services.  Each county is required to have a local Healthy Start Advisory Committee, which may be the local Early Childhood Team.

The Healthy Start 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 providers/contractors/staff may provide Healthy Start program information to the Healthy Start Advisory Board but may not participate in board decisions on advising the program or preparing reports to the DCCF.

Douglas County's Healthy Start Advisory Board is chaired by Matt Brausam of Douglas County Early Intervention.  Members include the following:

Council Chair:

,
Director Douglas County Early Intervention

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, Rm 7 Roseburg, OR  97470

Fax:                       541-957-4648

Policy & Procedures:

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