Heartbeats - Youth Futures for Early Childhood
The Heartbeats program was established with the aim of creating a response for parents of infants in order to support them in the initial stages of parenting, encouraging the parent-child relationship, healthy development of the children and utility of the services available in the community. The program operates by means of Mentors in this field of parenting who accompany the parents in the home and community settings.
Target Population
Young families who are parents of infants and toddlers (up to three years of age) with an emphasis on first-time parents – first or second child.
The Motivation and the Vision
Infancy is a critical stage in the life of every child. It is during this stage of life the developmental milestones that influence children’s lives are attained. Therefore, it is important to provide every parent the assistance they require in order to provide their children with the support they need, and to provide them with an environment wherein they can grow and develop optimally. This necessity is more acute in the instance of new parents, and even more so in the instance of parents who live in distanced regions with limited access to resources, or in the instance of parents identified as lacking role models to serve as examples of parenting.
Fortifying and accompanying parents of infants and toddlers in general, and particularly first-time parents is a matter of national importance that requires great thought and investment of resources. Our vision is to provide parents located in the geographic and social periphery of the country the security, opportunities and tools for strengthening their parental identities and skills, with the aim of assisting in the healthy development of their children.
What do we provide?
Parental accompaniment and support provided by a Heartbeats Mentor. The Mentor serves as a Mentor for the family and accompanies the parents on a weekly basis through a process strengthening their parental identities and parenting skills, organization of the home environment, setting priorities within the family, fortifying the parent-child relationship and supporting the parents as the agents for the development of their children.
Activities within the framework of the community and the neighborhood are conducted through community parent groups and developmental playgroups that are open to all parents. The aim of these activities is to advance the healthy development of the infants and toddlers, to strengthen the relationships between the parents and their children at this critical stage of connecting with their children, and to provide the parents a safe space where they can explore and study content related to parenting.
Professional committee – the Heartbeats program is accompanied by a professional committee comprising the program representatives, governmental representative, experts in the field of infants and toddlers, and representatives in the field of research and development.
Research and formative evaluation – Youth Futures possesses years of experience in assessment and evaluation processes. The program utilizes one of the most advanced evaluation systems in Israel. The evaluation is performed in cooperation with the “Digma Institute,” headed by Haya Amzalag-Bahr together with Dr. Iris Lavi of the University of Haifa, with the aim of assessing the impact of the program on its beneficiaries.
Research-based program – following extensive research, the Healthy Families America (HFA) program located in Chicago was selected to accompany and guide the Heartbeats staff such that the Heartbeats program would function as a research-based program operating on the basis of validated tools and methodologies.