Healthy Start brings together schools, school districts, county offices of education, health and human services agencies, county governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and others to focus their collective energy, expertise, and resources on responding to the needs presented by children, youth, and families in the school community. Fostering local interagency collaboration and communication to more effectively deliver education and support services to children and their families. Encouraging the full use of existing agencies, professional personnel, and public and private funds to ensure that children are ready and able to learn, and to prevent duplication of services and unnecessary expenditures. Building on the strengths of children and families and providing and enhancing opportunities for parents and children to be participants, leaders, and decision-makers in their communities. The Healthy Start focus on families is rooted in a conviction that the needs of children are inseparable from the well-being of families.
Families are the first and usually the best providers for their children's health and welfare.
Children are unlikely to prosper unless their families do. Therefore, a goal of Healthy Start is to strengthen and support the family unit, as well as the individual members within it. The aim is to build families' capacity to make their own decisions, chart their own course, and obtain needed supports and services. Accessible Schools are a key place where the needs and strengths of children and youth are known and where they can most easily be served. Students and their families are more likely to use services that are close by and that are associated with the school, rather than an unfamiliar service agency that may be miles away.