Evidence-Based Home Visiting & Connecting NJ

New Jersey funds long-running home-visiting programs — Nurse-Family Partnership, Healthy Families, and Parents as Teachers — with Connecting NJ as the county-based entry point that helps match you to one.

These programs stay with you for months or years rather than weeks, covering parenting, child development, and your own well-being at home.

Criteria are set by model. Nurse-Family Partnership serves first-time pregnant women and new mothers who enroll by the second trimester or 28 weeks, and generally continues to the child's second birthday. Healthy Families starts prenatally or early after birth and generally continues to age 3, in some cases 5. Parents as Teachers runs from pregnancy to kindergarten or age 5. The Targeted Intensive Parenting program (TIP) serves eligible TANF or General Assistance families from the third trimester to age 1. All 21 counties have core model presence, but eligibility and capacity vary.

Regular home visits with education and support on child development, parenting, and family needs, plus connections to medical and community resources. What each program includes depends on the model.

Model-specific: to age 2 for Nurse-Family Partnership, generally to age 3 and in some cases 5 for Healthy Families, to kindergarten or age 5 for Parents as Teachers, and to age 1 for TIP.

The state resource guide describes these programs as free.

Call 609-777-14NJ, or use the Connecting NJ referral form or your county Connecting NJ office. They help identify which model serves your address and whether you are eligible.

Information the model asks for, such as your address and service area, pregnancy stage or your child's age, and whether this is a first pregnancy.

Presence in every county does not mean every model is available in your town or has an open slot right now. Eligibility rules and capacity vary, and enrollment windows matter — Nurse-Family Partnership requires enrolling by 28 weeks.

These programs work alongside NJ FamilyCare, Family Connects NJ, WIC, and your medical and pediatric care. They do not replace clinical care.

Connecting NJ is the county-based entry point; it can tell you which programs serve your address and refer you.

Delivery is local and language capacity varies by program and county; ask Connecting NJ what is available in your language.

Not fitting one model's criteria does not mean there is no home-visiting option. Ask Connecting NJ which other model, or which other family support program, serves your county.