Home Visiting

Creating Stronger Families for a Thriving Future

Pregnancy and the first few years of a child’s life can be a challenging time for families. Since 1988, our trained home visitors have partnered with growing families in the comfort of their homes, to provide information, resources, and skills that create happier children, healthier relationships, and stronger households.

We provide FREE hands-on support through:

• Accessing healthcare services
• Building loving relationships
• Connection to community resources 
• Developing personal and family goals
• In-person visits (we now also offer virtual visits) 
• Promoting healthy development

Our Home Visiting services include:

• Father-Child Attachment
  • Promotes positive father involvement
  • Strengthens the father-child relationship
  • Fathers must live in Washington, DC
  • Enroll from pre-birth until the child turns 5 years old

• Healthy Start 
  • Designed to improve birth outcomes 
  • Health and development of infants in early childhood 
  • Must live in zip codes: 20002, 20003, 20019, 20020, 20024, 20032 
  • Families should enroll during pregnancy 
  • Participate until the child turns 12 months old

• Nurse-Family Partnership 
  • Supports pregnant people and their families
  • Must live in Washington, DC
  • Specially trained nurses regularly visit first-time parents-to-be
  • Enroll during pregnancy and continuing through the child’s second birthday

• Healthy Families America

  • Focused on building warm and positive parent-child relationships
  • Must live in Maryland: Montgomery or Prince George’s County, and a participant at Mary’s Center
  • Enroll during pregnancy up until 3 months postpartum and will remain enrolled until the child turns 5

Please submit the Home Visiting referral form to register or email HomeVisitingManagement@maryscenter.org. 

Watch this video to learn more about home visiting services offered at Mary’s Center.

For more information about our social services, call the main line at (202) 483-8196.

Partnerships

The Home Visiting team works with partner organizations to conduct outreach, organize community events, and advocate together to promote our shared mission, which is to support our area’s families in their paths toward good health, supportive environments, and positive family outcomes. 

If you would like to partner with Mary’s Center, please email Laura Hillstrom, Community Engagement Program Manager, at LHillstrom@maryscenter.org or call (202) 913-6394.  In addition, if you have a participant that you would like to refer to our programs, please complete the registration link above or email HomeVisitingManagment@maryscenter.org. 

Advocacy

The Home Visiting team works with participants, staff, and partners to promote the benefits of our programs to policymakers. This advocacy is a year-round process that is needed to maintain funding that will allow us to continue supporting families with infants and young children. 

We rely on people like you to share your story and perspective on Home Visiting. There are many ways to get involved, from sharing information on social media to testifying at a Budget hearing.

View one of our participant’s videos as an example of a quick and simple way to advocate for community programs!

We thank parents, partners, and champions for all that they have done for families in the District and beyond. If you are interested in sharing your perspective on Home Visiting, please reach out to your Mary’s Center Home Visitor or email the Home Visiting Director, Fernanda Ruiz at fruiz@maryscenter.org or call (202) 420-7178. 

 

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided financial support for this project as part of an award totaling $1,099,972.00 for the Healthy Start program. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies of HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.