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Family Spirit
Culturally-Sensitive Help for Native Families
The Family Spirit Program is a culturally tailored home-visiting intervention delivered by Native American paraprofessionals as a core strategy to support young Native parents from pregnancy to 3 years postpartum. Parents gain knowledge and skills to achieve optimum development for their preschool age children across the domains of physical, cognitive, social-emotional, language learning, and self-help. The Family Spirit Program consists of 63 lessons to be taught from pregnancy up to the child’s 3rd birthday. This in-home parent training and support program has been designed, implemented, and rigorously evaluated by the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health in partnership with the Navajo, White Mountain Apache, and San Carlos Apache Tribes since 1995.
The Family Spirit Program offers parenting help to Native parents and families. If you are pregnant or a parent to a child under 3 years of age and interested in developing parenting skills, then this program is ideal for you. You will help your child develop emotional resilience and physical well-being. Parents will also learn how to build a strong, healthy family that is connected to your Native heritage.
Benefits of the Family Spirit Program:
- Increase parenting knowledge and skills;
- Address maternal psychosocial risks that could interfere with positive child-rearing (drug and alcohol use; depression; low education and employment; domestic violence problems);
- Promote optimal physical, cognitive, social/emotional development for children from 0 to 3;
- Prepare children for early school success;
- Ensure children get recommended well-child visits and health care;
- Link families to community services to address specific needs; and
- Promote parents’ and children’s life skills and behavioral outcomes across the lifespan.
Eligibility Requirements for the Family Spirit Program:
The Family Spirit Program Curriculum is designed to serve mothers prenatally through to a child’s 3rd birthday. Programs that are working with participants in this age range are eligible to be trained on Family Spirit. Each program will have unique eligibility requirements for implementing the program.
Early Head Start
Help for Low-Income Pregnant People and Children (age birth to five)
Head Start (for children 3-5) and Early Head Start (pregnant people and children 0-3) has a variety of program and service delivery options including Center Base, Home-Base, Combination (Home & Center) or Family Child Care. Each program incorporates an individualized approach to high-quality services for low-income pregnant people and children age birth to five. Families receive support and guidance from Head Start staff to become self-sufficient.
We understand how challenging it can be to be a parent. Early Head Start is a free parenting program that helps low-income parents and their children with home visits, education, and health screenings. Early Head Start can also help children who are in foster care, children experiencing homelessness, and children with a disability. We offer resources for pregnant people and help for new parents.
Benefits of Early Head Start:
- home visits
- child development education
- health screening and follow-up care
- parenting guidance and education
- services for special needs children
Eligibility requirements of Early Head Start:
- Children between the ages of 0-5 of families that meet the federal poverty guidelines and pregnant people who meet the federal poverty guidelines
- Children who are foster children
- Children who are homeless
- Children who are disabled (have IFSP or IEP)*
Arizona Health Start
Personalized Care for Pregnant People and New Mothers
If you are expecting or a parent facing challenges, it’s important to know that someone can help you. Arizona Health Start is here to help. Our home visitors can connect you with a variety of community organizations that provide health care, education, parenting resources, and application assistance for other programs. We will get to know you and your family, so we can help you get the resources you need. We understand your culture, because we live in your community. We also understand what you’re going through, because we’ve helped families just like yours.
If you are expecting or have a child under the age of 2 and are interested in having additional support in accessing health care, education, or assistance programs, Arizona Health Start can help. The program is available throughout the state and is free for participants. Expecting parents and families with children enrolled in the program receive additional support such as navigating access to prenatal care; family medical care; and assistance in applying for AHCCCS, WIC and other programs that help you and your family thrive.
Benefits of Arizona Health Start:
- You’ll gain access to appropriate prenatal care for pregnant people.
- We provide access to appropriate family medical care.
- We’ll give application assistance for AHCCCS, WIC and other programs.
- Women will receive a health screening.
- We provide developmental screenings for children ages birth to age two.
Eligibility Requirements of Arizona Health Start:
- Must have primary residence located within the Contractor’s Program Site targeted service area.
- Pregnant and/or postpartum women with children under the age of 2.
- And one or more social risk factors.