Brighter Futures is a comprehensive nurse home visiting program for low income, first time pregnant women. Specially-trained nurses regularly visit mothers and family members in their homes during pregnancy and teach prenatal care. After the birth, they emphasize parenting skills and healthy infant and child development.
Through education, support, referrals and service coordination, Brighter Futures:
- Promotes healthy prenatal care
- Cultivates parenting skills
- Fosters healthy child development
- Supports education for both parent and child
- Encourages economic independence and self-sufficiency
- Helps keep parents in school
- Promotes responsible citizenship
- Strengthens the family unit
The Brighter Futures program fosters lifestyle changes that help break the cycle of poverty, dependency, and unintended pregnancy. It also reduces premature births and low weight births, and helps prevent child abuse and neglect.