Overview
The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is an evidence-based program that aims to improve the lives of at-risk, first-time mothers and their infants. The program pairs these women with specially trained nurses, who conduct home visits for roughly two and a half years, beginning before the birth of the infant. The NFP has been implemented in 23 states; studies of the program's interventions have shown reductions in rates of abuse, neglect, and injury in children, as well as in the numbers of pregnancies in mothers. The authors describe the NFP's history, results, and costs, and the support systems that sustain nurses in this challenging but rewarding work.