To make a referral please complete our HFBC Referral Form or for more information about the Healthy Families Baltimore County program, contact us via e-mail or call 410-828-7700.

All families that are receiving home visiting services are invited to participate in group meetings that are hosted by HFBC or other collaborating partners. These groups are a wonderful way to spend time as a family and meet other participating families who may have similar interests. Each group has a topic or theme that is chosen based on what families are interested in. Groups may include a speaker, and they always include food and fun activities that parents and children can do together.

Some of the our recent group topics and trips that families have had access to include:

•  Dental Health
• Family Fun Day
• Family Movie Night
• Health and Nutrition with Chef Love
• Port Discovery
• Dutch Wonderland
• Winter Holiday Celebration
• Literacy Learning Party – Storyville (Baltimore County Library)
• Taking Care of Me (Parents Only)
• National Zoo

This model has a significant impact in the following family outcome domains: 

• Child development and school readiness
• Child health
• Maternal health
• Family economic and self-sufficiency
• Linkages and referrals
• Positive parenting
• Reductions in child maltreatment a
• Reductions in juvenile delinquency, family violence and crime

We have integrated the following critical elements of the HFA service model into the program:

• Services are offered voluntarily and are initiated with families prenatally or at birth.
• A standardized tool is used to systematically identify families who are most in need of services.
• Services are offered intensively with criteria for increasing or decreasing intensity of service over time.
• Services are culturally competent and the materials used reflect the diversity of the population served.
• Services focus on supporting the parent as well as parent-child interaction and child development.
• Families are linked to health care providers and are linked to other services based on family needs.
• Services are provided by skilled staff who receive intensive training, ongoing supervision and maintain limited caseloads.

For more information about our evidence-based service model, please visit the following links: 

• Healthy Families America
• Administration for Children and Families – Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness
• U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs
• Maryland Maternal and Infant Home Visiting Project

Families that  have participated in our Resource and Referral services, have been offered Home Visiting services, and choose to participate will receive the following benefits:

• Intensive in-home support – Families begin participating in home visits prenatally and are able to continue receiving support until the child is five years old. We strongly encourage dads, grandparents and/or other caretakers to be a part of our visits.
• Information and connection to community resources – A Family Support Worker will work closely with the family to help them connect with community resources throughout their time in the program.
• Support with keeping children up to date with immunizations and health care visits – Staff will work with parents to ensure that their child’s medical needs are met.
• Parent education using a standardized child development curriculum – Parents will benefit from child development activities and information shared from Growing Great Kids, a curriculum that was chosen by families in the program and is endorsed by Healthy Families America.
• Screening for child developmental delays – Staff will partner with parents to ensure that children are developing on target and will connect them with Infants and Toddlers of Child Find for additional in-home resources if a delay is suspected.
• Family-centered goal planning – Parents will benefit from being able to identify what they want for their families and gain support with implementing a plan to obtain it.
• Access to family groups – Parents and children have the opportunity to join other families in group activities and field trips. It is a great way to meet other parents who are also committed to supporting their child’s development.

All families that are referred for services are eligible to receive information about community resources available to support them with meeting the basic needs of their families. We know that it can sometimes be difficult for families to get to appointments so staff members are able to meet with parents in their homes to talk about their pregnancy, their parenting plan and their families’ current needs. Based on the information shared, parents receive customized resource packets with information that will help them meet the needs that have been identified. Families are offered home visiting services if they are eligible and space is available.