The HS (national evaluation) had seven major elements. Parents were offered:
- Home visits from HS specialists, timed to reach parents at children’s key developmental junctures during the first three years. For example, a home visit conducted in a newborn’s first few weeks of life encouraged continued breastfeeding and supported parents as they established their caregiving patterns. A home visit when a baby was about 9 months old and becoming mobile focused on safety hazards and childproofing.
- Enhanced well-child care appointments before, after, or during well-child appointments, during which HS specialists answered questions about child development and encouraged early reading to children.
- Child development telephone information line, staffed by HS specialists, for parents to ask questions about day-to-day worries and developmental concerns.
- Child development and family health check-ups, to detect developmental or behavioral problems and identify family health risks.
- Written materials that emphasized prevention and health promotion on medical, developmental, and practical topics. For example, parents received a Child Health and Development Record that chronicled immunizations, physical growth, developmental milestones, and parental concerns through age 18.
- Parent group meetings, facilitated by the HS specialists, for social support and opportunities for interactive learning.
- Linkages to community resources, consisting primarily of a list of community resources compiled by HS specialists.