Healthy Families stop neglect before it happens
As a stay-at-home mother of four who gave birth last March, Tymme Stewart-Dorris has seen firsthand the chaos the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to some Hoosier households.
“It’s been hectic,” she told IndyStar. “Very, very hectic.”
But she’s managed, in part thanks to her wide network of support, including the Indiana Healthy Families program.
For over 25 years, the Healthy Families program has offered support to Hoosier families for up to five years after their child is born, offering them social services, case management and connections to resources they need to be successful. Stewart-Dorris is enrolled in the program via The Villages of Indiana, a private nonprofit working to improve child and family welfare for Hoosiers across the state.
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Stewart-Dorris was connected with services via the Indiana WIC program (nutrition assistance for women, infants and children) just before she gave birth to her fourth child, Egypt, last spring. Although this wasn’t her first pregnancy, she opted into the program to receive additional support as she transitioned into becoming a stay-at-home mom.
She checks in with her family support specialist once a week or biweekly to go over best practices, such as safe sleep recommendations or potty-training tips, some of which may have changed in the years since she first became a mother.
“It’s just more resources,” she said. “Even though this ain’t my first rodeo, they just gave me a little more help or reminders.”
Stewart-Dorris and her case worker have also discussed how to set goals like getting more organized and making time for herself.
“Even though I’m taking care of the kids and doing everything I’m supposed to do in the house with the kids and everything,” she said, “am I OK?”
Stewart-Dorris said she was hesitant to become involved in the program because of the time commitment of weekly or biweekly check-ins with her case manager. Healthy families has connected her with everything from potty training resources to Christmas shopping.
“It’s a great help,” she said. “With the pandemic, bills still here, kids still want gifts and stuff like that, so any little help they can help us out (with) and make everybody put a smile on their face, that’s what makes me happy.”
Healthy Families bridges the gap for families in need
At its core, Healthy Families is a tool for prevention. When risk factors such as food or housing insecurity, unemployment, lack of access to health care, basic needs assistance are eliminated, it lowers the chance that abuse or neglect may occur, said Nancy Gwin, senior director for early childhood initiatives at The Villages, which oversees programming in eight Central Indiana counties.
“Nobody really sets out to neglect their child or abuse their child,” Gwin said, “it’s usually the result of circumstance.”
Participation in the Healthy Families program is voluntary, and while families may be referred via WIC offices or other service providers, they can also self-refer by visiting in.gov/dcs/2459.htm and finding their county office.
Staff work with families to identify areas of need and help parents understand why it’s important to promote attachment and bonding, forming strong connections with a child as early as possible in their life.
“We also know that it’s hard to focus on those things,” she said, “if you’re worried about keeping your lights on or you’re being evicted or you’re unemployed or have mental health issues.”
Each office has a mini food pantry as well as diapers and formula to provide to families who might otherwise go without. And if The Villages can’t meet a need, they’ll facilitate a connection to a service provider that can.
“When somebody’s trying to decide, ‘do I pay my rent this month or do I get diapers,’ they might choose the rent and try to stretch the diapers,” Gwin said. “And so, we want to be there to try to help fill the gaps where we can so that they don’t have to make some of those decisions.”
Gwin acknowledged that there’s a fear that because the program is an offshoot of the Department of Child Services, leaving some families hesitant to reach out. But the program isn’t punitive, and these case managers aren’t there to remove a child. They’re there to make sure families never have to reach a point where that level of intervention might be needed.
“What we’re here for is to help strengthen them,” Gwin said. “Every family is unique, every family has a different situation, and we’re here to support all families in any way that we can.”
How you can help
To make a financial contribution, visit villageskids.org/get-involved/donate.
The agency also accepts in-kind donations, which will be sent to the Indianapolis office and distributed to offices statewide. To see a list of baby essentials needed, visit The Villages’ Amazon wishlist at amzn.to/3cI9QU0.
For more information and to enroll in Healthy Families programming, visit in.gov/dcs/2459.htm.
You can reach IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.
