Burke Foundation video highlights how nurse-led home visits remove barriers to care, giving NJ families access to early postpartum support.
The Burke Foundation has produced a video supporting Family Connects NJ, and featuring Family Connects NJ nurse Diana Gonzalez. “I see families at their most vulnerable,” Gonzalez said, “what’s unique about my role, is I get to go their home…those one to two hours I’m in their home, the family asks me as many questions as they want. They vent if they need to vent, cry if they need to cry and I give them support and resources.”
The video highlights how Family Connects NJ is changing the landscape of maternal care in New Jersey because of its universal model. “Families don’t have to qualify or explain why they need the service,” says Lisa Asare, President & CEO of the NJ maternal Health and Innovation Authority, “It just becomes part of the ecosystem and part of the fabric of how we provide care in New Jersey.”
Improving maternal health in New Jersey is a focus point Gov. Sherrill’s first budget plan, which includes funding to expand Family Connects to all 21 counties in early 2027. “I know parenting is hard,” Gov. Sherrill told lawmakers, “Parenting right now is even harder. That’s why this budget invests in our children from the moment they are born.” Research on Family Connects NJ has shown that every $1 invested saved $3.17 in health care costs before the child turned 2.
First piloted in Mercery County in 2023 by Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, Family Connects NJ is now available in 17 counties across North, Central and Southern Jersey and facilitated in each region by The Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern NJ, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, and The Cooperative respectively.
“As the pilot site for Family Connects NJ, we have seen the value of this program from day one,” says Robyn D’Oria, CEO of Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, “As a former labor and delivery and maternity nurse I have been part of a team supporting families prior to discharge to ensure a smooth transition to home, but for some families that support ended when they left the hospital. The impact of Family Connects NJ—bridging that gap in support by bringing nurses to the family and extending that care beyond the hospital is nothing short of extraordinary. As one of our families shared, ‘…this service is a major asset to new moms. I think it is an amazing resource, so many are underserved, can't get to appointments because of transportation or get childcare’.”
State data shows that in 2025 alone, 1 in 6 visits lead to emergency care for mom or baby, and more than half of the families visited were linked to resources for mental health, lactation support, rent assistance or food pantries. Learn more about Family Connects NJ at https://familyconnectsnj.org
