Project Self-Sufficiency gains accreditation for Healthy Families program

Healthy Families America (HFA), an affiliate of Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) America, recently granted accreditation to Project Self-Sufficiency for the agency’s Healthy Families program.

It is one of the agency’s three home-visitation programs, which aim to improve children’s health, nutrition and developmental outcomes.

The accreditation underscores the high quality of Project Self-Sufficiency’s home-visitation services, which are targeted to low-income families who are prenatal or parenting a child younger than 3.

The stringent accreditation process takes about a year and requires that the agency meet or exceed 12 different critical standards, including corporate operating procedures and the quality of the visits made to each participating family.

Project Self-Sufficiency’s accreditation was expedited this year because of the high quality of its programming.

HFA is a signature program of PCA America, which has been providing home-visiting services for more than 25 years. HFA connects with families through community partners, such as hospitals, pediatricians and nonprofit organizations, to help expectant and new parents find the answers to common questions about their child’s development.

Meetings take place in the family’s home.

Once a family elects to participate in Project Self-Sufficiency’s Healthy Families home-visitation program, they receive visits about once a week, depending on the age and health of their children.

Typical visits usually last about an hour and include a discussion about topics such as health, nutrition and developmental milestones.

Home visitors receive extensive training in a wide range of potential issues for new parents, including caring for a crying baby, proper nutrition, healthy child development, partner relationships and stress management.

Project Self-Sufficiency’s home visitors rely on the Nurturing Parenting and the Parents as Teachers curricula to help participating families.

“Project Self-Sufficiency’s Healthy Families home-visitation program is an important component of the agency’s services to low-income families in Sussex and northern Warren Counties,” said Deborah Berry-Toon, Project Self-Sufficiency’s executive director.

“Families who participate in the home-visitation program are also able to take advantage of the other services we provide, such as parenting skills workshops, legal education, and career and employment programs.

“We have always been proud of the home-visitation services provided by Project Self-Sufficiency, and this accreditation demonstrates the strength of our commitment and the high quality of our services.”

About 200 families are being served by Project Self-Sufficiency’s home-visitation programs.

For information, go online to https://www.projectselfsufficiency.org/pregnancy-help-sussex-warren-nj or call 973-940-3500.