Facing being a single mother, Sterling resident Alisha Dickason did not know what to do and what to expect.
Four years ago, the Department of Social Services told Dickason about the MotherNet/ Healthy Families Loudoun program that could help her develop parenting skills. "They have given me a lot of information. They have given me directions," she said. "I feel like there’s still a lot of obstacles … lots of things I have to learn. Now I know there are things to expect."
Dickason and 13 other Loudoun mothers and families are the first to graduate from the MotherNet/ Healthy Families Loudoun program. They stayed with the program for at least three years to achieve the required milestones in parenting skills.
"I feel that every parent could use something like this," said Judy Card, director of MotherNet/ Healthy Families Loudoun, a program of the International Medical Services for Health (INMED) non-profit organization that aims to prevent child abuse and neglect. INMED started the MotherNet program in 1994 and added the Healthy Families component in 1998. "We pick the people most in need because we don't have the funding to help everyone."
THE MOTHERNET/ Healthy Families Loudoun program is a voluntary home visiting, case management and outreach program for at-risk pregnant women and teens, new mothers and families who are referred to the program. Currently, 59 families with 76 children are participating in the program and 80 percent of the participants are Hispanic.
The participants are required to be first-time mothers but do not have to meet any income requirements. The mothers are screened and assessed to determine if any negative outcomes could result in their children's health and development and in their child parenting skills. If so, they are invited to enroll in the program to receive prenatal services and home visits until their children are five years old or until they are no longer at-risk and are self-sufficient, a decision made both by them and the program staff.
Three family support workers visit the mother's family homes once a week, decreasing the visits over time as the mothers and families work through each of the program milestones. The visits last about an hour to answer questions, provide information and give referrals as needed for medical, social and educational services.
"I believe that first-time mothers are people who really need a lot of help and support," said Maria Vasquez, program supervisor. "By providing home-visiting services, that is a different environment as opposed to coming to an office. If you go to a home, you can really see that family in their environment. They can feel free, more relaxed to tell about what's going on."
"Both the moral support and the information provided to me by this program have made me feel motivated to provide the best care for my children by developing a home environment filled with trust, love, respect and fun," said Leesburg resident Laura Aguilar, one of the program graduates.
Aguilar started in the program in March 1999 when she was pregnant with her first of three daughters. She was "concerned about not living together with the father of my child and about not having immediate family or friends in the area," she said. "In addition to these concerns, I was lacking information on how to raise children."
Now, Aguilar is married to the father of her children, and they have bought their own house. "I was very happy to know that this program existed and that someone was willing to help me. Since then, I have felt very supported by all of my family support workers," she said.
FAMILY SUPPORT workers Mercedes Baltuano, Veronica Martin and Jennifer Wigfield help the families maintain immunization records, facilitate their access to health care and encourage them to establish a health insurance plan and to send their children to a health care provider on a regular basis. The families learn how to develop parenting skills, form a social network and address any issues surrounding bonding and attachment with their children.
"We are another support that really enhances their support system," Vasquez said. "We bring [them] information they might not have had the opportunity to get before."
The families learn about child discipline and child development and about developmental milestones so they do not have inappropriate expectations for their children. Program staff provide developmental screenings 11 times through the duration of the program to determine if the children are developing according to their age levels. If not, the staff refers the children to intervention services to help catch them up before they enter kindergarten.
"With our support and their determination and enthusiasm, they are no longer at risk. That's in and of itself amazing," Card said. "They just had these barriers to being successful families and now those barriers are gone."
The program's first graduation ceremony was Friday at the program site and was conducted in English and Spanish.
"We're celebrating the fact they have made so many achievements in the last few years with their children and with their lives," Card said. "This graduation signifies our beliefs in [their] abilities as parents."
"To be a good parent takes hard work and dedication. It takes an openness to learn and try new things," said First Lady of Virginia Lisa Collis, who has visited all but five Healthy Family sites in Virginia to bring attention to the program. "Because of your commitment, your children will grow up healthier" and be more prepared for school and being good citizens.
"I thought it gave me a really good start. I feel about good it. I love being a mother," Dickason said.
MOTHERNET/ Healthy Families Loudoun is funded through federal and state grants and foundation support. The program combines MotherNet America, which has two national sites in Loudoun and Los Angeles, and Healthy Families America, a program of Prevent Child Abuse America that requires affiliates to meet certain home visiting guidelines. MotherNet America is also in Brazil, Mexico and throughout Latin America. Healthy Families America is in 37 sites for 86 communities in Virginia and other sites across the nation.