Family Services

The Montezuma County Public Health Department provides support for members of our community through numerous Family Services Programs.

Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

WIC is an educational and supplemental nutrition program for pregnant women, infants, and children 1-5 years old. Appointments are made to evaluate the nutritional health of the family and tailored food package checks are then issued for each participant.

To qualify for WIC, the client must meet income guidelines and have one nutritional risk factor – this is done at the certification visit. Education is a big part of the WIC appointment as well as program explanation, health history, requirements and expectations, etc. Prenatal care is encouraged to ensure a healthier pregnancy outcome. Breastfeeding is always presented as the norm for feeding an infant, and we offer breastfeeding classes 6 times a year.
WIC works with other organizations to teach cooking skills, shopping skills, diabetes, weight management, and smoking cessation. We also monitor weights and do blood iron screening for a referral to doctors if needed. The WIC staff are all educated and trained for competency – together we have 50+ years of experience! We have an RN to evaluate higher risk situations and we all make many family health-related referrals to increase our client’s well being. WIC can really help families with basic nutritional needs so they can use their resources wisely.

Eligibility Guidelines 2023

WIC Program Benefits

Do you know about Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits? You or someone you know may be

January 26, 2022 4:00 pm

Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)

The Nurse-Family Partnership is a program for women who are having their first baby. If you enroll, a registered nurse will visit you in your home throughout pregnancy and continue to visit until your baby is two years old.
Any woman who is pregnant with her first child, meets the income requirements, and lives in the service area may enroll in the program.
Nurse-Family Partnership Goals:
- Goal 1: Improve pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in good preventive health practices, including obtaining thorough prenatal care from their healthcare providers, improving their diet, and reducing their use of cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal substances.
- Goal 2: Improve child health and development by helping parents provide responsible and competent care for their children.
- Goal 3: Improve the economic self-sufficiency of the family by helping parents develop a vision for their own future, plan future pregnancies, continue their education, and find work.

Visit the Nurse-Family Partnership website to read stories from first-time moms and learn more about available resources and support.

Essentials for Childhood

Essentials for Childhood: Essentials for Childhood (EfC) is a national child maltreatment prevention initiative. In Montezuma County, the health department’s EfC program focuses on increasing economic supports for families, promoting WIC, SNAP, and CCCAP, and increasing childcare slots.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – Want your child to receive Free Books?

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Republic of Ireland.

Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read program is a literacy promotion program that provides education and books for parents to read to their children. This is encouraging, satisfying, and has been proven to increase literacy rates by having a love of books. Each child from 6 months to 5 years old is given a new age-appropriate book to take home when they get immunizations at Montezuma County Public Health. Their parents receive tips on reading and developmental milestones and sometimes a role model for reading. The Nurse-Family Partnership program is a satellite site for the Montezuma County Public Health Reach Out and Read program. This allows the ability to provide infants 0-5months with books as part of the Back to Birth program.