Released: July 5, 2019
Santa Fe Community College announces Tekla Johnson is the new director of the statewide First Born® Home Visiting program – based at the college.
The home visiting educational program supports families with first-born children ages prenatal to three. The program’s mission is to increase the health and wellness of women pregnant for the first time, families parenting for the first time and families adopting their first baby. Housed at SFCC’s Early Childhood Center of Excellence, the program provides statewide training, curriculum, technical assistance and licensing of First Born® Programs throughout New Mexico.
Director of the Early Childhood Center of Excellence Jennifer Duran-Sallee, Ph.D., said, “We’re thrilled that Johnson will be leading the program. Her experience will help expand services throughout the state.”
Johnson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of home visiting experience in New Mexico and ten years of experience with the First Born® Home Visiting program. She served as the program manager for the Santa Fe First Born® Program during its startup phase, and first three years of implementation in Santa Fe County. As the statewide First Born Director Johnson said, “I look forward to supporting First Born® programs across the state to provide high quality, impactful and fun home visiting services.”
In a state with one of the lowest scores for child outcomes, the First Born® program has contributed to improving those outcomes.
“Investing in home visiting helps children by supporting families to improve child well-being. Research has indicated that educating and supporting parents through First Born® leads to improved outcomes for children,” Duran-Sallee said.
For more information about this program, contact Tekla Johnson, tekla.johnson@sfcc.edu or 505-428-1344 or visit firstbornprogram.org.
For more than 35 years, Santa Fe Community College has been the gateway to success for individuals and the community by providing affordable, high quality educational programs that serve the social, cultural, technological, and economic needs of a diverse community. SFCC is a designated Best for Vets and Military Friendly school. The college serves more than 12,000 students per year in its credit, noncredit and adult programs. For further information, visit sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1000. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn.
