Project Self-Sufficiency expands home visitation program
Newton. Project Self-Sufficiency has expanded its Nurse-Family Partnership program to include experienced mothers, offering in-home nurse visits and support to help families improve health, child development and self-sufficiency.
| 30 Oct 2025 | 12:53
Eligible experienced and first-time mothers can receive visits in their own home from a personal nurse with the Nurse Family Partnership program offered by Project Self-Sufficiency.
Project Self-Sufficiency’ Nurse-Family Partnership home visitation program is now available to experienced mothers, in addition to those who are pregnant with their first child.
Eligible mothers of all ages are paired with a nurse who visits them in their homes throughout pregnancy and until their child’s second birthday. The visiting nurses provide support, education and counseling on health, behavioral and self-sufficiency issues, and offer access to food, diapers, clothing and other resources for children.
Nurse-Family Partnership is based on the work of David Olds, professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and preventive medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. His research led to the development of the program for first-time, low-income mothers and their children. After extensive testing, the voluntary program launched in 1996 and now serves more than 54,000 families annually across the United States, the Virgin Islands and several tribal communities.
The initiative is one of three home visitation programs offered by Project Self-Sufficiency to families in northwestern New Jersey. The agency is the first in the state authorized to expand the Nurse-Family Partnership to experienced mothers as well as first-time moms.
“Our goal is to improve pregnancy outcomes and assist parents with early childhood development while helping families move toward economic self-sufficiency,” said Deborah Berry-Toon, executive director of Project Self-Sufficiency. “The Nurse-Family Partnership program has been proven to prevent maternal health issues and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect, and we are delighted to be able to offer this groundbreaking program to more families.”
Nurse-Family Partnership is among the most rigorously tested programs of its kind. Participants have shown improved prenatal health, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased maternal employment, improved child school readiness, reduced crime involvement and lower rates of child abuse, neglect and injuries.
For more information about the Nurse-Family Partnership or other programs offered by Project Self-Sufficiency, call 973-940-3500 or visit www.projectselfsufficiency.org.
