Many parents in Philadelphia struggle to raise children in the face of overwhelming circumstances—extreme poverty, substance abuse, even mental retardation. To help these parents overcome the challenges they face and keep their families together DHS has partnered with a variety of other city and community agencies to develop three home visiting programs for compromised care givers. Each program provides a wide variety of intensive services.

To make a referral click here or call 215-683-4000

The Nurse-Family Partnership

The Nurse Family Partnership, for low-income first time mothers, is one of the few existing evidence-based child abuse prevention models for first time mothers in the country. The program provides regular home visits by a qualified nurse who helps new mothers learn how to access other needed health and human services and utilize her own support system.

SCAN MR (Supportive Child/Adult Network for Mothers with Mental Retardation)

The SCAN MR program provides supportive services to enable parents with a diagnosis of mental retardation to maintain their children in the family home. The program addresses quality of life issues for the entire family with a special emphasis on the safety of the children. It utilizes a multidisciplinary team approach and provides in-home life skills training and parenting education.

Enhanced Services for Women in Substance Abuse Treatment and their Children

This program provides designed to reduce the incidence of abuse and neglect among women with drug and alcohol issues. Women are linked to a Family Services Coordinator who develops a plan for her and her children at the same time her chemical dependency is being addressed. The program also provides an aftercare advocate who provides intensive ongoing services to help the client sustain recovery. The aftercare advocate begins working with the client one to two months prior to discharge and follows the client until she is stabilized.