Child First, Inc.

Child First is an innovative, evidence-based, two-generation, home visiting intervention that decreases the incidence of serious emotional disturbance, developmental and learning problems, and abuse and neglect among high-risk, very young children and their families. Child First has been designated by Health and Human Services (HHS) as one of the 13 evidence-based home visiting models eligible for federal funding under the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Initiative (MIECHV). Child First uses a team approach that combines (1) Child-Parent Psychotherapy, a psychotherapeutic, attachment-based, trauma-informed, dyadic intervention with (2) care coordination, providing wrap-around services and supports for the whole family. Most families have experienced multiple challenges, including poverty, violence, depression, substance use, and homelessness. Child First is currently in a period of rapid growth, now in 15 sites across Connecticut 5 in North Carolina, and 3 in Florida. The Child First National Program Office oversees and supports the Child First Network of agencies that are authorized to implement the Child First model.