Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based model that serves lower-income, first-time mothers starting before the 29th week of pregnancy and ending when the child is 2 years of age. Backed by 40 years of research, Nurse-Family Partnership provides education, assessment, support and resources to help first-time parents and their children succeed. Regular home visits in pregnancy, infancy and toddlerhood help build a foundation for families and children to continue to thrive far beyond the length of the program. Randomized, controlled studies have shown reductions in preterm births, child abuse and neglect, accidental injuries, and intellectual and behavioral problems in children whose mothers participated in the program. Studies have also shown fewer language delays, fewer subsequent unintended pregnancies, and a decrease in involvement with the criminal justice system for both mothers and children at age 15.
The coalition is working to build successful families in Montour and Columbia Counties, joining leaders for an event at the Danville Childhood Development Center.
Those in attendance were: Angela Mattis, Montour County District Attorney; Ashley Mensch, director, Columbia County Family Center; Allison Shay, parent educator, Parents as Teachers; a mother benefiting from voluntary home visits and Kari King, president and CEO, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
Childhood Begins at Home held an event in March to highlight the need for more evidence-based home visiting in Montgomery County.
Those who participated included:
- Nadine Miller, deputy administrator, Resource Division, Office of Children and Youth, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services;
- Kevin Steele, Montgomery County District Attorney;
- Rosemarie Halt, senior director of policy, Maternity Care Coalition;
- A mother benefiting from voluntary home visits; and
- Kari King, president and CEO, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
Family support advocates joined together at the Kingsley Center to discuss the need for evidence-based home visiting in Allegheny County.
The event included:
- Marc Cherna, director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services;
- Dr. Karen Hacker, director of the Allegheny County Health Department;
- Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Trying Together;
- Local families benefiting from voluntary home visits; and
- Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
Lycoming County First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade, joined with the Nurse-Family Partnership and other statewide and regional partners for a press conference at UPMC Susquehanna in Williamsport, to discuss evidence-based home visiting and the Childhood Begins at Home campaign’s efforts to ensure more state funding for the programs in Lycoming County.