Military and Family Support Center

New Parent Support Program

Military and Family Support Center Deployment Support Employment Financial Assistance Family Advocacy Program Loan Closet Relocation Assistance New Parent Support Program Service Specific Information

Contact information for key programs and services at this installation.

New Parent Support Program Overview

You may be expecting your first baby or busy with a toddler. That probably means you have your hands full, and may have questions. Thankfully, help is at hand.

The New Parent Support Program is a free service that helps military parents, including expectant parents, transition successfully into parenthood and provide a nurturing environment for their children. Services vary, but may include home visits, parenting classes, playgroups or prenatal classes.

General Program Description

The New Parent Support Program is a team made up of nurses, social workers and home visitation specialists who offer support and guidance by helping parents:

Build strong, healthy bonds with their infants and toddlers that will lay the foundation for their social and emotional development
Manage the demands of parenting, especially when impacted by deployments and other military operations
Remain flexible and responsive when navigating daily life
Build a strong support network
Respond to infant and toddler behavior sensitively and be attuned to their developmental needs
Find services in the local community in time of need

Learn more about the New Parent Support Program and contact your installation New Parent Support Program office to find out what’s available at your installation.

Staff Qualifications

New Parent Support Program staff are child development professionals, including registered nurses, clinical social workers, and para-professionals trained in the delivery and practice of established home visiting models. The program is supervised and monitored at the installation level by the Family Advocacy program manager.

Eligibility

The program is available to military families who are expecting a baby or have children age 3 or younger. Marine Corps eligibility includes families with at least one child under 5.

Enrollment

Contact your installation New Parent Support Program office or Family Advocacy Program office.

Other

There is no New Parent Support Program at Hanscom AFB.

Family Advocacy staff members provide outreach and prevention services to military families. Services are tailored to each family's unique circumstances and can help with adaptation to military life, preparation for parenthood, enhancing parenting skills, single parent issues, couple communication, coping with divorce, and stress management. Family Advocacy offers parenting and couples classes, community resource connections and referrals, domestic violence/child abuse training, and a breast pump loan program. Family Advocacy staff members understand the impact military life can have on families, including deployments and separation from family and friends, and can assist families in coping with these special situations.

In addition, the Family Advocacy Program identifies, reports, assesses, and treats family maltreatment by providing clinical intervention for victims, offenders, and other family members. Family Advocacy can assist in navigating the court system and can serve as a liaison with Child Protective Services.

Family Advocacy can also work with individual couples to help prepare them for impending parenthood
as well as managing expectations and stress after baby is born.

The Military & Family Readiness Center offers a Bundles for Babies class in support of expecting parents.

Bundles for Babies is an all-day class covering many topics related to pregnancy, birth and infant care and safety. Please call 781-225-2765 to register.