The New Parent Support Program

The New Parent Support Program helps military parents, including expectant parents, transition successfully into parenthood and provides a nurturing environment for their children. The program offers 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.

Types of services provided

The New Parent Support Program’s staff consists of nurses, social workers and home visitation specialists, and is supervised and monitored at the installation level by the Family Advocacy program manager. The program focuses on providing one-on-one support for new and expectant parents through home visits, but some installations may offer parenting classes and groups. Services vary by service branch and by installation, but they can include:

• Home visits – As a new parent, you may feel more comfortable asking questions and expressing your concerns about parenthood, including sleep, nutrition, behavior management, breastfeeding and other concerns, in the privacy of your own home.
• Referrals to other resources – Home visitors can help you find and take advantage of additional services offered through the military health care system, your installation or the local community that best suit your needs.
• Prenatal classes – Prenatal classes help parents know what to expect when the baby comes home from the hospital. Topics include feeding and nutrition, bathing and preventative health care.
• Parenting classes – Hands-on classes for both parents of infants and toddlers focus on a variety of parenting issues, ranging from discipline to feeding. Classes for new fathers help them adjust to life with a new baby and support them to be an active parent.
• Playgroups – Structured activities in program play groups help children improve their social and motor skills. The playgroups also help new parents get to know one another and develop a support system within the military community.

The New Parent Support Program home visitors assess the strengths and needs of participating families with a variety of tools to understand a family’s unique environment. Most participating families use only the basic services, including:

• Parenting basics
• Resource materials
• Playgroups
• Visits with a home visitor

On occasion, families may be struggling with multiple challenges. These families may qualify for a higher priority or intensive services. What classifies as an intensive service varies from one installation to another, but it generally refers to:

• Frequent (more than three) home visits
• Formal engagement with other support agencies
• Follow-up by a provider in the Family Advocacy Program

Confidential standards

Anything you share with a program staff member is confidential, including health-related information (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects that). Feel free to discuss personal issues with the staff so that they can better help you with your parenting concerns.

There is one exception to confidentiality: The registered nurses and licensed social workers of the New Parent Support Program are obligated to report maltreatment or suspicion that you may harm yourself or others under the duty to warn.

Eligibility and enrollment

The New Parent Support Program’s services are free to active-duty service members and their families who meet one of the following criteria:

• Expecting their first child
• Have at least one child younger than 3 years old (Army, Navy and Air Force)
• Have at least one child younger than 5 years old (Marine Corps).

Service members who have separated from active duty may still be eligible for the program depending on the nature of the separation. If you have access to a military treatment facility, you may be entitled to program benefits on a space-available basis.

If you would like to participate in the program, you can enroll through your installation’s:

• Family Advocacy Program
• Military and Family Support Center

To find the program nearest you, go to the MilitaryINSTALLATIONS locator and select New Parent Support Program from the drop-down menu of programs and services.

If you don’t live near a military installation, there are similar programs for new parents available in many locations. You can find new parent support programs by:

• Asking your pediatrician for help finding a support program for new parents
• Visiting Military OneSource’s non-medical counseling page for information about free, confidential non-medical counseling sessions
• Contacting Military OneSource to schedule a New MilParent specialty consultation. It’s for expectant parents and parents of children up to the age of 5, and provides personalized, confidential help for a wide range of parenting issues.
• Locating additional resources about parenting and child care on the Military OneSource website, or calling 800-342-9647. OCONUS/International? View calling options.
• Accessing Thrive, a parenting-education program developed by the Defense Department in partnership with the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State. The program’s free, interactive resources promote positive parenting, stress management and healthy lifestyle practices for children from birth to 18. Supplemental modules, including content for exceptional families, grandparents as caregivers, mental health and wellness, and more, are added regularly.

Parenthood is like any other job – there’s a lot of learning at first, and the more guidance you get, the more confident you feel in carrying out your duties. The New Parent Support Program provides that extra help in launching you into parenthood so that you can enjoy your child and relax in your role as mom or dad.