Chief among the strategy's components were efforts to gain the support of the State legislature, the development of a partnership with academic centers that would conduct research to provide data and feedback that would inform and refine practices as the program evolved, and the creation of an infrastructure that would ensure an effective program model that could be adapted from advances in the field and findings from the Trust Fund's research in Connecticut. The Children's Trust Fund's goal is to expand the program to reach all first-time parents in the State who are at risk of abusing or neglecting their children. After identifying such families, home visits will provide the families with effective services whose goal is to address the risk factors that made the parents vulnerable to child abuse and neglect and ultimately to reduce the number of children substantiated by the child welfare system as abused or neglected. Connecticut has approximately 10,000 children born into poor families each year with one or more risk factors for subsequent abuse or neglect. Of these 10,000 children, approximately 5,000 are born to first-time parents. The Nurturing Families Network is reaching only about 2,000 of these at-risk families. Currently, Connecticut is facing a challenging economic situation; for now, the Trust Fund's efforts are focused on preserving the vital services that are in place, with a view toward resuming its expansion efforts when the State's fiscal situation improves. 14 references