“Balancing work and family, sometimes means sharing the worry.”
Families come in all shapes and size, but they all have the same responsibility - to build a loving environment within which every member is nurtured and can feel safe. But today’s families face more demands than ever before. Two working parents and an overabundance of children’s activities can strain a family’s time. The absence of one parent because of hospitalization, illness, injury or work demands also put stress on a family. This is why VHS has designed Family Care, to help lessen the worries. Family Care is a service intended to meet the unique needs of families with children to:- Help strengthen the family unit and provide emotional support
- Enable the family to remain intact in their own home
- Provide a positive presence for children
- Bring about peace of mind knowing a responsible caregiver is in the home
Family Care is a collection of services utilizing qualified social workers, nurses, specially trained and professionally supervised Certified Home Health Aides, Home Care Aides, and carefully screened and trained helper who can provide:
- Dependable child care in the home (help from a carefully screened and trained adult, or a Certified Home Health Aide is available)
- Sick Child Care (care in the home by a Certified Home Health Aide when a child is too sick to attend school or day care)
- Babysitting (our screened, trained and supervised helpers are available with as little as 1 hour notice)
- Before and After school care in the home (prepare breakfast and snack, supervise homework, accompany to and from school, bus or playground, etc.)
- Pre and Post delivery mother and baby care (Nurse and Certified Home Health Aide to help the mother’s recovery)
- Housekeeping (assistance with maintaining a safe, clean, healthy home for children)
- Errands (shopping, laundry pick-up and drop off, post office, etc.)
Why is Family Care service important?
According to the National Association for Sick Child Day Care:
- There is a huge unmet need for sick childcare. Each day more than 350,000 children younger than 14 years of age with both parents working are too sick to attend school or childcare.
- Working mothers are absent from their jobs from 5 to 29 days per year caring for ill children. This costs employers between $2 and $12 billion annually.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation:
- 62% of children under age 6 in New Jersey live with working parents.
- 22% of children in New Jersey live with a single parent.
- 39% of 4th graders in New Jersey scored below the basic reading level and 38% below the basic level in mathematics.
When is Family Care needed?
- When an expectant mother is having a difficult pregnancy.
- When a new mother returns home after a strenuous or cesarean birth.
- When a family with children is in a crisis or needs help coping with stress.
- When the unexpected happens and one parent is overwhelmed.
- When a family wants assure the safety of their children.
