Maryland Home Visiting Conference Supports Parents

June 23, 2004 – The Freddie Mac Foundation sponsored Maryland's first annual Home Visiting Conference on June 10. Presented by Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Jr. and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, the event focused on integrating home visiting with other early childcare and educational programs to provide a continuum of care for Maryland families.

The conference provided an opportunity for professionals to network and share new ideas, as well as inform audiences about new approaches and the best practices in Maryland. Featured topics included "Stresses & Supports for Parents," "Dads for Life" and "Gangs and Gang Violence." The keynote speaker was internationally known child development expert Dr. T. Berry Brazelton.

Recognizing Maryland leaders for their commitment to helping children and families succeed, Foundation CEO and President Maxine Baker explained that such efforts – including Maryland's cooperation in creating and expanding Healthy Families America sites throughout the state – help children get the best possible start in life. "Working with our partners to build strong, resilient families is at the heart of the Freddie Mac Foundation," she explained.

Strengthening families by preventing child abuse and neglect is one of the Freddie Mac Foundation's three primary funding areas. The Strengthening Families program works to create safe and stable environments that help enable children to reach their full potential. The work is accomplished in partnership with highly effective nonprofit programs in the Washington, D.C. metro area and in communities nationwide. Maryland's Home Visiting Conference is an example of this work.

Since its creation in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation has granted more than $141 million to non-profit organizations that serve children and families, both in the D.C. metropolitan area and throughout the nation. Nearly $63 million has been invested in Strengthening Families since 1991, including more than $16 million in grants that has been used to expand Strengthening Families' signature program – Healthy Families America, a home visiting program for new families.