The UCLA Family Development Program (FDP) provides evaluation, consultation, prevention, and treatment services for parents and families who are facing early life medical challenges with their infant, including high risk pregnancies and NICU stays. The mission of FDP is to enhance the ability of family members to care for themselves, each other, and to cope with stressors while bonding with their infant.

Who We Serve

We offer support services to parents and families who are facing early life medical challenges with their infant and want to provide the best possible future for their family. Health challenges may include

  • NICU Stays
  • Surgeries
  • High-risk antepartum hospitalizations
  • Other medical complications

Our services are available to families during their hospital stay as well as during and after their transition home.

Services We Offer

Being a new parent can be tough, the UCLA Family Development Program is here to help by providing:

  • Convenient Weekly Visits in the comfort of your home, at our clinic, or at the medical center
  • Guidance in bonding with your baby
  • Strategies for coping with the many difficulties that parents experience when their infants are facing medical challenges
  • Confidential Mental health Assessment and referrals to additional resources, if needed
  • Individual Consultations and Family Therapy
  • Ongoing support during and after your transition home via virtual or in-person sessions

Contact Us

To learn more about the UCLA Family Development Program and to Schedule an Appointment:

760 Westwood Plaza, Room A8-153

Los Angeles, CA  90095

Phone:  310-825-7573

Email:  starclinic@mednet.ucla.edu 

Program History: 30 Years at UCLA

Launched in 1987 by the esteemed Dr. Christoph Heinicke, the UCLA Family Development Program has provided high quality services to new mothers and their families in Los Angeles County for over 30 years.

The UCLA Family Development Program is grounded in theory and research that supports the program as an evidence-based practice.  With funding from longstanding private donors, our program continues to grow to meet the changing needs of the families we serve.

Located at the Nathanson Family Resilience Center within the UCLA Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior, our program is bolstered by the most current research in family resilience and child development.