Local Help Me Grow Home Visiting Professional Honored as Home Visitor of the Year in Greene County
Ohio’s recent Early Childhood Cross Systems Conference 2019 was truly historic. Each of Ohio’s Early Childhood state agencies for the first time partnered to offer a fully integrated systems approach early childhood conference. Each day an agency took the lead and offered mental health, disability and health specific sessions. There were cross-systems sessions designed to promote increased collaboration and improved outcomes among all early childhood professionals. In addition to the keynotes, participants were inspired by remarks from the new state agency leadership and participated in an interactive early childhood wellness fair.
To top off the conference, the second annual Home Visiting Excellence Awards were announced. Only six individuals were chosen throughout the state of Ohio to receive the Home Visitor of the Year award. Greene County Public Health is proud to announce that Jennifer Reynolds was selected as one of those recipients. She was nominated by a co-worker and this is what they had to say about her: “Jennifer has been a home visitor for 14 1/2 years. Jennifer takes a can-do attitude and tailored a monthly service log to make our agency and program model reporting streamlined and easier to track. She volunteered to be available to assist in any way she could to our site achieving our model (Healthy Families America) accreditation and we have met the threshold for accreditation. Families assigned to this home visitor do not quit the program. They may move out of county, but she has developed great rapport with the families she has served, we have a strong program and many of her families refer their friends to her for services. We are a small program and when a home visitor resigned to stay home with her children, she voluntarily helped to pick up extra families to make sure they received services. We moved to a new building this past year and she organized our supply closet for us. She is conscientious, an advocate and thorough with the families she serves and in her interaction with staff!!” Jennifer accepted her award from Sandra Oxley, Chief of Maternal, Child and Family Health at the Ohio Department of Health (see photo). About the Program Help Me Grow Home Visiting is a voluntary family support program for pregnant women or new parents. Offered in every county of the state through a well-established network, Help Me Grow Home Visiting is an evidence-based program that promotes healthy growth and development for babies and young children. Home visitors are well-trained professionals who use a non-judgmental and compassionate approach that empowers parents with skills, tools and confidence to nurture the healthy growth of their children.
Help Me Grow Home Visiting believes all young children deserve the same opportunities to realize their full potential in life, regardless of economic, geographic, and demographic considerations. The parenting education and child development resources provided to families allows them to maximize this critical period of development in their child’s life, providing a foundation for lasting success.
When a parent schedules a home visit with Help Me Grow Home Visiting, they will have the opportunity to share their thoughts about parenting, ask questions, and receive reliable information based on their individual family needs or topics of interest.
For more information about Help Me Grow Home Visiting, please call 937-374-5679 and ask to speak to Nancy Kessinger or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
