Doctor / Clinician FAQs

Family Connects NJ is a universal home visiting program that provides a free nurse visit to support parents and newborns at home. The Family Connects NJ visit normally occurs within two weeks of birth, where a registered nurse or advanced practice nurse specially trained in maternal and child health will perform a comprehensive health and wellness assessment of the newborn and the parent(s) or caretaker, answer questions, and if needed, connect families to appropriate community resources.

Family Connects NJ nurse visits are also open to families who are welcoming a child through adoption or as a resource parent, and for families experiencing the tragedy of a stillbirth or loss of their newborn. 

Family Connects NJ also shares community resources and sponsors community events tailored for expecting families and families with young children.

Nurse visits will be offered to residents of Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, and Middlesex counties starting in January 2024. The visit is available to families residing in those counties who are welcoming a newborn through birth, adoption, or as a resource parent. Services are also available for families experiencing the tragedy of a stillbirth. The program is completely voluntary, and families are eligible to participate regardless of socioeconomic status, insurance status, or immigration status.

Nurse visits will be made available in additional counties in the future  eventually expanding to all 21 counties. The rollout schedule can be found on the Family Connects NJ website.

Families can enroll using the sign up button on the Family Connects NJ website, or by calling the nursing provider covering their county, as shown in the table below:

This is a volunteer service, so the family must agree to participate, but we welcome community providers, advocates, extended family, and friends in assisting parents with the enrollment process.

The program is free for all New Jersey families who reside in the participating counties. There is no need to provide proof of income, insurance, or immigration status. We want every family to participate in this program.

It has demonstrated compelling outcomes, such as decreased postpartum anxiety and depression, increased positive parenting behaviors, improved connection to community resources, decreased emergency room visits in the first year of a child’s life, lower rates of child protective services investigations, and improved completion of postpartum health checks.

Family Connects NJ is unique in its broad approach intended to reach all families welcoming a newborn or facing the tragedy of stillbirth. It will add to the continuum of available home visiting programs offered in New Jersey.

As part of the Family Connects NJ nurse visit, families are connected to appropriate community resources, which may include referral to one of New Jersey’s other home visiting programs, such as Healthy Families America or Parents as Teachers, where appropriate. These other home visiting programs are longer term in nature and have specific eligibility criteria for participation. In communities where this evidence-based model has been implemented, other home visiting programs have experienced an increase in referrals, which speaks to the value Family Connects NJ will bring as a connector of services for families.

Medical providers (doctors, clinicians and nurses) are trusted resources that families rely on for information about available services. In that capacity, medical providers will be encouraged to increase awareness about the program to their patients, staff, and communities as well as function as key referral sources into the program, in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (NJ DCF) and their local Family Connects NJ nursing provider.

Yes! Let Family Connects NJ know at the time of scheduling your visit that accommodation in another language is needed. Family Connects NJ will send a bilingual nurse, where possible, or arrange for translation for the visit.

A report summarizing the visit can be provided, but only with the patient’s permission. Typically, this is faxed or mailed to the provider. In some locations, Family Connects NJ can load the report into the patient’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) record.