Project offers family nurse sessions

NEWTON — Project Self-Sufficiency will host free information sessions about the Nurse Family Partnership home visitation program at locations in Newton, Hackettstown and Phillipsburg during June. Sessions are designed for health care providers, educators, clergy, social service representatives, as well as women who are pregnant with their first child.
Lunch will be provided; the events are free but registration is required.
The free Lunch & Learn sessions will be offered at Trinity United Methodist Church, Hackettstown, Wednesday, June 13, at noon; Project Self-Sufficiency, Wednesday, June 13, 1 p.m.; and at the Phillipsburg Free Public Library, Wednesday, June 27th, 1 p.m.
Women who are pregnant with their first child can receive regular visits from a nurse in the privacy of their own home through the Nurse Family Partnership program offered by Project Self-Sufficiency. Eligible, first-time mothers of all ages are paired with a nurse who visits them throughout the pregnancy and up until the child’s second birthday. The voluntary program was tested extensively prior to its launch in 1996; since then it has served more than 260,000 families in 42 states, the United States Virgin Islands and six tribal communities. Project Self-Sufficiency’s Nurse Family Partnership program is available to women in Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties; the initiative is one of three different home visitation programs for young mothers which is provided by Project Self-Sufficiency to families in northwestern New Jersey.
The visiting nurses provide support, education and counseling on health, behavioral and self-sufficiency issues.
“Our goal is to improve pregnancy outcomes, and to assist parents with improving early childhood development, while helping the family to move towards economic self-sufficiency,” explains Deborah Berry-Toon, Executive Director of Project Self-Sufficiency. “All of the home visitation programs offered by Project Self-Sufficiency are designed to empower mothers to be the best parents they can be.”
Nurse Family Partnership is one the most rigorously tested programs of its kind. Mothers and children who have participated in the program have consistently demonstrated significantly improved prenatal health, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased maternal employment, improved child school readiness, reduced involvement in crime, and less child abuse, neglect and injuries.
Project Self-Sufficiency is celebrating its 30th year of providing services to families in the New Jersey counties of Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon. Programs include career guidance, computer training, help with obtaining a high school diploma, parenting skills classes, legal assistance and education, financial workshops, health education, childcare and family activities. The agency offers help around the holidays, formal dresses during prom season, and assistance with emergency basic needs, such as food and clothing to its participants. Most services are free and many are open to the public.
Those who are interested in learning more about the Nurse-Family Partnership, or any of the other programs offered at Project Self-Sufficiency, are encouraged to call 973-940-3500 or 844-807-3500, or visit www.projectselfsufficiency.org.