The Summit County Health Department has launched Strong Starts, a free program that sends a nurse and care coordinators to homes of families with young children.

The home visitation program serves pregnant women and children from birth through age eight, according to the Park City Community Foundation. The foundation's Early Childhood Alliance helped position the county to secure the federal grant that funds the program.

The program is free.

Any Summit County resident who is pregnant or has a child up to age eight can use Strong Starts by contacting the Summit County Health Department.

Kelsey Filmore, the program's nurse, leads a team of care coordinators who visit families at home. The team handles developmental screenings, mental health referrals, help enrolling in Medicaid or childcare assistance, and practical tasks like checking car seat installation. Follow-up visits are scheduled as often as families need them.

The foundation described the program as about two months old and growing. Referrals are picking up as the team reaches out to providers, schools and childcare programs across the county. The Early Childhood Alliance hosted a webinar in summer 2026 featuring Filmore so partner organizations could learn how the program works and how to make referrals.

In one early case, the program helped a family whose child's Medicaid coverage had lapsed. Staff connected the family to WIC benefits and a free car seat. The foundation said the program is built to close that kind of gap, where families lack connection to resources that already exist rather than lacking community support.

How the program came together

The Early Childhood Alliance, a Park City Community Foundation initiative, convened local and state partners around the need for early intervention support. When a four-day federal funding window opened, that groundwork meant Summit County was ready to apply. The county won the grant and launched Strong Starts.

The specific federal program and grant amount have not been publicly disclosed.

How to connect

Families can refer themselves or be referred by a provider, neighbor or friend. To learn more or request a visit, contact the Summit County Health Department at (801) 442-2610 or reach Filmore at [email protected]. The health department is located at 650 Round Valley Drive in Park City.