FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Aug. 7, 2008 Department of Public Welfare
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
CONTACT: Stacey Witalec
(717) 787-4592
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE AWARDS GRANTS TO HELP LOW-INCOME, FIRST-TIME PARENTS
HARRISBURG – To help improve the lives of low-income, first-time parents and their children, the Department of Public Welfare today said 37 counties will share nearly $12 million in grants to support the Pennsylvania Nurse-Family Partnership program.
“The Nurse-Family Partnership program provides low-income, first-time parents with support from pregnancy through the child’s first years so that both mom and baby have the opportunity to get off to a strong start,” said Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle B. Richman. “Research has shown that proactive investments help to improve parenting skills and can reduce the risk that children will experience social or educational problems later in life.”
With the Nurse-Family Partnership grants, approximately 4,000 first-time mothers and their children will receive the benefits of in-home parent coaching services.
Through the program, registered nurses make regular visits to low-income, first-time mothers from pregnancy until the child is two years old. Registered nurses work with the expectant mothers to ensure a healthy pregnancy, to engage in activities with the baby that will promote healthy development, and to make plans for the future.
For more than 30 years, the national model of the Nurse-Family Partnership program has shown substantial and consistent results related to child health, child abuse and neglect, crime reduction and school readiness, including:
· 48 percent reduction in child abuse and neglect;
· 56 percent reduction in emergency room visits for accidents and poisonings;
· 59 percent reduction in arrests at child age 15;
· 67 percent reduction in behavioral and intellectual problems at age six; and
· 72 percent fewer convictions of mothers at child age 15.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: A list of grant recipients is attached.
Allegheny
Allegheny County Health Department - $320,029
Berks
Community Prevention Partnership of Berks County - $489,627
Blair/Huntingdon/Centre/Cambria
Home Nursing Agency - $1,216,882
Northampton/Lehigh/Carbon
Visiting Nurse Association of St. Luke's - $1,187,617
Chester
Chester County Health Department - $366,900
Clearfield/Elk/Jefferson
Peritech Home Health Assoc. Inc. - $303,788
Columbia/Montour/Northumberland/Snyder
Central Susquehanna Community Foundation - $437,736
Dauphin/Franklin
Pinnacle Health Systems - $420,554
Delaware
Crozer Keystone Health System - $502,000
Erie
Erie County Department of Health - $323,380
Fayette
Fayette County Community Action Agency - $366,375
Lackawanna/Wayne/Susquehanna
Maternal and Family Health Services Inc. - $439,519
Lancaster
Success By 6 United Way of Lancaser County - $383,750
Lawrence
Children's Advocacy Center of Lawrence County Inc. - $352,255
Luzerne
Behavioral Health Services of Wyoming County - $682,564
Lycoming
Divine Providence Hospital dba Susquehanna Home Care & Hospice - $350,277
Monroe/Pike
Pocono Medical Center - $424,234
Montgomery
Montgomery County Health Department - $330,000
Philadelphia
National Nursing Centers Consortium - $1,998,800
Schuylkill
Schuylkill County Commissioners - $249,375
Wyoming/Bradford
Wyoming County Human Services - $371,268
York
Family First Health - $366,160
