06/15/11 - What was left over from 3-year-old Diego Barbosa's breakfast - the crust off his toast, a sliver of egg and a chocolate milk ring around his glass - was still on the kitchen table when health educator Monica Mendoza visited his home to talk about nutrition and exercise.

By the time she left, having taught Diego and his mother how to make a fruit smoothie - "He won't even taste the spinach inside," Mendoza said - Belinda Barbosa was vowing to work the recipe into her family's breakfast routine.

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According to the Pew Center on the States, which recently estimated there are nearly 120 home-visitation programs across the nation, "Quality home-visiting programs lay the foundation for children's development and tax payers reap the benefit when many of our nation's costliest social problems—school failure, child abuse and the use of welfare—are prevented."

Read the full article at recordnet.com.