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Healthy Families has set a target day to begin operation on Oct. 12.
"Healthy Families is an Indiana initiative to establish a voluntary home visitor system for all new parents to help their children get off to a healthy start," Peggy Shively, director of Kosciusko County Division of Family and Children, said today.
Kosciusko County is one of the last four counties in Indiana to adopt the Healthy Families program.
The Cardinal Center will run the secondary prevention program. It is a screening process for children to determine any risk factors that a child or family may have. The screening begins before the child reaches three months old.
A home visitor is assigned to the family for four to five years. The visitor helps the family meet the needs the child may have.
"It makes sure the child has the best chance to survive," Shively said.
Shively received $12,000 in additional appropriations from the county council Thursday for the program. The appropriation is a county match; state funds pay the bulk of the program, especially the first year.
In other business, the county council also approved a transfer of funds for the sheriff's department. The money will go toward a patrolman's salary.
Don Taylor, maintenance department, received approval for a transfer of money from the full-time position account to the part-time position account.
The animal shelter budget was also approved by the council for deletion except for the salary of the animal control officer and the $30,000 expense account. The budget will be kept in a separate account for one year to monitor the account.
The county commissioners voted to hand over the shelter from the county to the Animal Welfare League Tuesday. The League will take over the shelter Nov. 1.
The council finished the day's business by having the first reading of the budget for the upcoming year. The second reading will be Sept. 14 at 7 p.m., when the council will adopt the budget.
