Calvert County programs outline home‑visiting, Judy Center expansion to Saint Leonard

Representatives for Calvert County’s home‑visiting and early‑childhood programs told the Student Safety & Well‑Being Advisory Committee on Sept. 17 that services for children prenatal to age 5 remain active countywide and that the Judy Center network will expand to Saint Leonard this school year.

Diana Adams, program coordinator for HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) and related home‑visiting services with Calvert County Public Schools, said the county’s home‑visiting programs have operated for more than 25 years and will resume visits “in a little less than 2 weeks.” She described the HIPPY/Healthy Families/Parents as Teachers continuum as providing weekly visits early in enrollment and tapering to twice monthly once a trusting relationship is established, and said the program builds home libraries and delivers books to families (“we make it our business so that at least 1 thing parents don't have to go out and buy…is a book for their kid”).

Karen Jordan, program coordinator for the county’s Judy Centers, said Judy Centers provide site‑based family resource services, developmental playgroups and emergency supports and that the program reports to…