Anyone who has had a child knows it can be intimidating, even when you have an amazing support structure and have experience being around babies. You have questions, worry you’re not doing things right and wonder if your pregnancy and baby are progressing as they should.

That’s where our Healthy Families Program shines!

The team is there to guide families along the journey from pregnancy to kindergarten, giving them the knowledge and advice that all parents need AND to get young ones started off on the right foot, right away!

Families in this evidence-based program can bring their fears, emotions, worries, concerns, and questions to their Family Support Specialist, who are trained to listen and validate parents’ feelings, accepting them where they are at that moment and guiding them to be their most successful.

Meet Christa - a True Advocate and Cheerleader for Families

Resource and Support Specialist Christa Hildenbrandt, who has been with ICAN since 2017, shared a couple (of many!) client successes with us so we could showcase some of the life changing work this team does every day. Christa truly lives and loves this work. She supported families through Head Start for 26 years before ICAN and has decades of experience being nurturing, attuned and responsive with parents and children. She serves as a model for the relationships the parents are forming with their children and enjoys getting to spend many years with the same families, seeing growth and becoming an extended member of the family.

A Success Story:
New Mom?! No Problem!

Build on existing skills. Assure parents are on the right track. Encourage critical thinking.

Getting a Great Start Before the Baby is Born

A young lady from Evelyn’s House was 29 weeks pregnant with her first child when Christa started working with her. She had never gotten the chance to have any experience around a baby, but Christa taught her many things, even before the mom delivered very early. She used one of the best tools they have - a real life doll to allow mom to gain the experience and confidence of how to hold, bathe and diaper a baby while she was pregnant. These dolls are so much like real babies - they help the soon-to-be parents get comfortable with the necessary skills during pregnancy and definitely relieves some stress. Our specialists make sure the parents have a pediatrician, pack and plays, car seats and any other essentials they may need. They work in-person, in the home, via Zoom or whatever it takes!

Consistency Pays Off

When the baby was born premature at 32 weeks, Christa was there to provide mom with encouragement and someone there to pay attention to mom’s needs as well, while she spent the next few weeks traveling to and from the hospital until the baby was ready to go home. Once they were both home, Christa had visits to go over all the growth milestones and what mom could do to help achieve them. They created a curriculum for mom and baby to work on – from tummy time to first steps. Healthy Families work includes the whole family, and Christa helped mom get a job and secure an apartment. Two years into the relationship, mom and baby are still in their own apartment and doing great.

Christa will continue to cultivate a healthy family dynamic over the next three years until the baby turns five and starts kindergarten. She will provide guidance and support along the way including how to register for kindergarten, keeping up with doctors appointments and milestones and what mom can do to make sure the baby is happy, healthy and thriving!

A Success Story:
Two Countries. One Family’s Journey.

Flexibility. Connection to community resources. Mental health support. Perseverance.

Meeting the Unique Needs of Every Family

This mother was born in the United States and raised in the Dominican Republic. She had a healthy five year old, a husband and a baby on the way when she decided that she wanted a better life for her family. She traveled to the U.S. by herself while pregnant, found a job working at Head Start and started the visa process for the rest of her family. That was until COVID caused the process to be derailed and her to lose her job. Being here without her family during a pandemic and giving birth to her second child took a toll on her mental health.

Making the Hard Decisions

She started struggling with postpartum depression and was working two jobs so she couldn’t be home with her baby. Christa was able to support her and assist her in getting help for her depression. Because of this help, she was able to make the very hard decision to have her newborn live with their father and sibling in the Dominican Republic while she worked on her mental health, worked two or three jobs to save money and got her family's visas once the pandemic was over. Christa provided her with the referrals she needed to navigate the process and the mom’s hard work finally paid off just before Thanksgiving in 2022!

More Than Just a Homecoming for the Holidays!

With the family being reunited just before Thanksgiving and spending all of their savings on getting them all together again, they weren’t able to get presents for the kids but bringing their family together again was so exciting for everyone it outshined the lack of presents. Christa was able to get them signed up for ICAN’s Adopt a Family Program allowing the children to have an amazing first Christmas together as a family in the U.S.! Shortly after moving here, the father secured a job at Walmart, Christa encouraged the mother to give up one of her jobs now that there were two of them earning an income. Christa continued to work with the family, ensuring they were able to continue succeeding. The child is now almost 5 and will graduate out of the Healthy Families program this coming September and head off to kindergarten.

And the Successes Continue…

These cases are just two out of MANY where Christa and the entire Healthy Families team strive for excellent results for children and families. It shows how much just having someone in your corner can make all the difference. This team become trusted people for families who they could turn to for advice, be with them along their journeys and celebrate when hard work pays off!

Learn more about the Healthy Families Program in Oneida County or Montgomery/Schoharie Counties. Anyone can refer and anyone can take part in this amazing program!