Family Home Visiting

Scott County Public Health offers home visiting programs that provide families support and guidance.  These home visiting programs are designed to help families reach goals and connect with community supports.  Public Health works with healthcare providers, early childhood educators, human services and other community services to meet each family’s needs.

Scott County Public Health Nurses promote healthy families and safe, nurturing environments for children through home visiting. Visits are voluntary and tailored to individual family’s interests and needs. Nurses engage mothers and fathers in a variety of discussions about:

• Breastfeeding
• Community connections
• Family planning
• Family relationships
• Health and nutrition
• Infant and child health, growth, and development
• Infant and childhood safety and injury prevention
• Infant cares
• Parenting support
• Pregnancy health

Family Home Visiting Referral:

Scott Healthy Families

Scott Healthy Families is a voluntary home visiting program for first time parents. This program is part of a partnership called Metro Alliance for Healthy Families (MAHF). Currently MAHF is being offered in 10 metro counties, including Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Dakota, Ramsey, Washington and the City of Bloomington. The Scott Healthy Family visits start during pregnancy or soon after the baby is born.  These visits can continue through the early years of parenting. 

Raising healthy successful children is a challenge for all families. This challenge can be greater for first-time parents.  In an effort to support these families, the Scott Healthy Families program will:

• Focus and build on parent's strengths
• Promote healthy births
• Promote child and family safety
• Help parents identify and reach family goals
• Support nurturing parent-child relationships
• Promote school readiness
• Offer connections to formal and informal community supports
• Provide support to parents to reduce parental stress

Is your child developing on track?

Babies and young children grow and learn at their own rate. However, some children may need help to grow up healthy and learn skills such as sitting, walking, or talking. Minnesota´s Follow Along Program can help you track your child's development and let you know if your child is playing, talking, growing, moving, and behaving like other children the same age.

What is the Follow Along Program?

• A good way to learn about your child´s health and development.
• A fun way to get ideas about “what to teach” and “at what age” to teach it.
• A simple way to ask questions about how your child is hearing, moving, seeing, playing, talking, learning, growing, and acting.
• An easy way to find out about other services you may want for your child.

How Does the Follow Along Program Work?

• Questionnaires are sent to you when your child reaches different ages such as 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 30, and 36 months old. Each questionnaire asks how your child is growing, playing, talking, moving, and acting.  (see an example questionnaire.)
• Handouts with fun activities for you to do with your child are also sent to you.
• The results of the questionnaires will be shared with you. If there are any concerns, a nurse or other professional from the program will get in touch with you. Together, you can talk about choices for further evaluation or early help services.
• When your child is 36 months old, you will get information about the next step, Early Childhood Screening.

Is There a Cost?

It's FREE! There is no cost to you.

How Do I Sign Up?

Enroll online Now
or contact Scott County Public Health at 952-496-8555

Car seats are  done through the Scott County Sheriff Office.

More information is available here.