Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age.  First Steps is a primary prevention program that is mostly driven by the volunteers that devote their time to the program.  Volunteers visit new parents who deliver at Athens Regional Medical Center and live in Clarke, Madison, Oglethorpe and Oconee Counties.  They provide families with a “welcome packet” containing information on topics such as SIDS, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Postpartum depression, community resources and child development.  Volunteers also provide friendly phone follow-up to the families that they see, for the first three months of baby’s life.