Ulster County Healthy Families

All Ulster County families who are pregnant or have a child under 3 months old are eligible for our services.

Families involved with Protective or Preventive Children’s Services through DCFS can enroll in Ulster County Healthy Families until their child turns 2.

All Ulster County Healthy Families services are completely FREE. No insurance is required.

Anyone can make a referral to Ulster County Healthy Families, including for yourself!

Just fill out this Referral Form and send it to us by email, fax, or mail (see below for our mailing address).

If you can’t print the form don’t worry. Just give us a call or send us an email, and we’ll help you get started.

Surveys found that 74% of American parents wish they had received help learning to care for their newborns. Healthy Families is to relieve some of the stress of having a new baby while also supporting you in real-life challenges.

Your Healthy Families Staff can:

• Help you identify and work toward personal or family goals
• Support you in forming a strong and positive relationship with your baby
• Connect you to local resources for health care, insurance, education, housing, employment, childcare, and more
• Assist with navigating paperwork, enrollment forms, and applications for you or your baby
• Help you prioritize and manage needs that may feel overwhelming

Your Healthy Families Staff can help you:

• Understand your baby’s unique personality
• Learn how playing with your baby can make them smarter
• Understand what your baby is trying to tell you, even before they can talk
• Learn how children grow and how parents can encourage and enhance their child’s development
• Discover the most up-to-date information on newborn care and child development
• Plan and prepare for labor and delivery
• Find breastfeeding support and information (we have Certified Lactation Counselors on staff)
• Access healthcare for yourself and your baby
• Discover school readiness activities and resources
• Learn about other helpful community services that may be available for your family

“I just wanted to give my daughter everything I could as a parent, and it was nice because I was offered this information that was so helpful.”

“It helps in so many other ways than what you might see initially on the surface. It’s a strength-based program. It’s positive, and you could at least allow for the first initial visits with an open mind and go from there.”

“I got to meet other people from the program, and everyone was just so nice and so kind. It was just so great to know that I had that support.”

(Source: Healthy Families New York – Home Visits, Family Voices: https://healthyfamiliesnewyork.org/HomeVisits/quotes.htm )

Studies have shown that Healthy Families programs improve long-term outcomes for children:

• 50% less likely to repeat first grade
• 70% more likely to score above grade level on key behaviors in first grade
• 7x more likely to be in a gifted program by age 7
• 26% reduction in special education services by age 7
• 23% fewer below-average scores in vocabulary for children of young, first-time mothers enrolled early

And studies also show positive outcomes for parents:

• At age 2, parents were more likely to use appropriate limit-setting techniques
• At age 3, parents were more likely to use parenting approaches that support cognitive development and respond sensitively to their child’s needs and cues
• At age 7, families reported using non-violent discipline strategies more often

Healthy Families is an evidence-based program. This means its benefits are backed by rigorous research and evaluation. Healthy Families America is recognized by the federal government as a trusted, science-supported program.

(Source: Healthy Families New York- Research: https://healthyfamiliesnewyork.org/Research/default.htm )