Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program

Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) is a home visiting program provided by Public Health Nurses and Family Home Visitors. HBHC Public Health Nurses are registered nurses who specialize in child health and development. Family Home Visitors (FHVs) are experienced parents who have received extra training to support families with young children. Our FHVs come from many different cultural groups and may be able to provide service in the client’s preferred language. Interpretation services are also available.

The program is free, voluntary and offered province wide. Clients do not require an OHIP card in order to receive service.

Clients who are referred to the HBHC program must provide consent for service.

If your patient lives outside the Toronto area and is interested in the HBHC program, please contact their Local Public Health Unit.

  • Supporting optimal prenatal health and birth outcomes
  • Improving child health and development outcomes
  • Improving the parent-child relationship
  • Improving parenting capacity
  • Promoting positive parenting skills

The Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) program provides services to families in the prenatal period and to families with children in their early years (birth up until a child’s third birthday). Children can enter the HBHC program up until their third birthday.

To be eligible for HBHC services the client must be:

  • Living in Toronto
  • Pregnant or actively parenting a baby/child who is three years old and younger
  • The legal guardian of the child(ren)
  • Available for home visits during the program’s hours of operation

The client must also meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Healthcare professional has concerns about the health and well-being of the client, family and/or child.
  • Client has concerns or questions about the child’s health and development, parenting, parent-child relationship.
  • Newcomer to Canada, here less than three years and having their first baby in Canada.
  • Client has a limited informal and/or formal support system.
  • Client has a history of or is experiencing physical and/or mental health illness or symptoms that are impacting capacity to parent or cope with pregnancy.
  • Client is facing challenging life situations or life stressors such as homelessness, domestic violence, child protection concerns, no OHIP.
  • Frequent and intensive home visiting by a Public Health Nurse and Family Home Visitor who will work together with the client to support them to meet their family health goals.
  • Support and health teaching during the prenatal period.
  • Breastfeeding and infant/child feeding support and teaching.
  • Health promotion teaching related to child growth and development, parenting, healthy parent-child relationship and parental health and well being.
  • Referrals to community programs and health services.
  • Service coordination to ensure families receive appropriate, integrated, needs-based coordinated services that build on their strengths.

In order to meet the needs of Toronto’s diverse and vulnerable populations, Toronto Public Health provides two additional targeted services under the HBHC program.

Homeless At Risk Prenatal (HARP) is a community visiting program that strives to promote positive prenatal and birth outcomes in homeless, transient pregnant individuals with multiple and complex health and social needs such as addictions, mental health issues and child protection services involvement. This service is provided by Public Health Nurses.

Nurse-Family Partnership ® (NFP) is a free evidence based home visiting program for young people who are pregnant and preparing to parent for the first time. This service is provided by Public Health Nurses who will support the client throughout their pregnancy and until their child is two years old.

The NFP program improves the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of first-time parents and their children by:

  • Helping clients have a healthier pregnancy and birth
  • Supporting clients to build a secure attachment with their child and meet their child’s health and safety needs
  • Helping clients meet their personal and family goals
  • Connecting clients to programs and services in the community

Clients may be able to enrol in the program if they are:

  • Living in Toronto
  • 24 years of age or younger
  • Less than 29 weeks pregnant
  • Preparing to parent for the first time