Home Visiting
Connecting parents with trained home visitors who offer guidance, emotional support, and parenting resources during a child’s critical early years.
Safe Children Come From Strong Families
A strong start begins with strong support. The early years of a child’s life are critical for healthy brain development and lifelong success.
Home visiting programs pair families with a trained home visitor who provides support, guidance, and resources. Home visiting programs in Massachusetts serve more than 6,000 families annually. Research indicates that participation in Healthy Families Massachusetts, the Children’s Trust’s home visiting program, is linked to lower maternal depression, higher housing stability, reduced child welfare involvement, and improved child development.
About Healthy Families Massachusetts (MA)
Healthy Families MA is a home visiting program available in every city and town across the Commonwealth for first-time parents age 23 and under.
The program matches parents with trained professionals who visit families’ homes to provide support during pregnancy and the child’s first three years of life.
Home visitors provide:
- Guidance on pregnancy, infant care, bonding, and child development
- Support for personal goals like graduating or finding a job
- Practical tools to build parenting skills and reduce stress
- Connections to peer groups and critical community resources for families
- Strategies for positive co-parenting
Healthy Families MA is an affiliate of Healthy Families America®. The Children’s Trust partners with local organizations across the Commonwealth to implement Healthy Families MA within their communities.
Home Visits Make a Big Impact
Healthy Families MA home visitors help guide young parents on how to create and maintain stable, nurturing environments for their children.
All data from the Tufts University Healthy Families Massachusetts randomized control trial evaluation and cost-benefit analysis.
2X
increase
Mothers in Healthy Families were nearly twice as likely to complete at least one year of college.
32%
decrease
in subsequent reports of child abuse and neglect six years after program completion.
31%
reduction
in risky behaviors like substance use.
36%
drop
in parenting stress—a key risk factor for abuse and neglect.
50%
decrease
in the number of parents who saw their child as “difficult.”
20%
decrease
in the use of corporal punishment.
The Vital Role of Home Visitors in Strengthening Massachusetts Families
Investing in home visitors is a forward-thinking strategy that benefits both families and communities. In 2010, the federal government established the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program to expand and introduce evidence-based home visiting programs nationwide. Since then, the Children’s Trust has been partnering with the Department of Public Health, which administers MIECHV funds, to align home visiting models to better support families. Supporting policies that strengthen home visiting in Massachusetts means expanding access to trusted, research-backed services while reducing future costs through preventative support. This requires investing in the dedicated professionals who make a lasting impact on children and families.