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County hears presentation on new Healthy Families Nebraska — 4 Corners home‑visitation program
Summary
County health officials told commissioners the Healthy Families Nebraska — 4 Corners program, state‑funded and supported by TANF dollars, will begin next week with two bilingual parent coaches offering voluntary, free prenatal and newborn home visits to families across four counties.
Laura McDougall, a public‑health official visiting the board, introduced Healthy Families Nebraska — 4 Corners and said the program will begin serving prenatal and new mothers next week.
Catherine Seiferling, the program manager, told commissioners the program is affiliated with Healthy Families America and is state funded, including TANF funds. She said the program is evidence‑based and data driven, aims to reduce child abuse and maltreatment, increase early prenatal care and newborn checks, and improve school readiness. ‘‘It’s free to the family,’’ Seiferling said, adding the program is voluntary even when families are referred by child‑welfare agencies.
Seiferling said the site will start with two parent coaches who are bilingual in English and Spanish and that enrollment will focus on prenatal through infants under 3 months; child‑welfare referrals may be accepted for children up to 2 years. McDougall said the partners chose 4 Corners as the anchor organization after focus groups and assessments and that the state prioritized four counties for early rollout. "We’re really excited about it," McDougall said, noting outreach plans include medical providers, schools, churches and local partners.
Commissioners asked about referral and outreach procedures; Seiferling said families can self‑refer, medical providers and schools can refer, and the program will maintain a website contact point and an email intake process. Board members discussed service gaps outside York city limits and noted nearby communities such as McCool and Polk and Butler counties have limited or no home‑visitation services; presenters said they will target outreach to those areas.
The program managers said they will expand parent‑coach staffing over time, continue training under Healthy Families America standards, and report program data anonymously to the national affiliate. Commissioners did not take formal action on the presentation; the program team said they would return with updates as services are rolled out.
