A new grant award will help a program that serves at-risk mothers in the North Inland and North Coastal regions of San Diego County to expand to help more first time mothers.
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) received a grant of over $1.2 million from the California Department of Public Health to assist low-income mothers.
The County’s Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program works with at-risk, first-time mothers and their children who have limited access to health and social services. NFP has provided services for more than 10 years in East County and four years in the South Bay. The new funding means an opportunity to expand existing NFP programs in the North County and reach an additional 100 at-risk families over the next two years.
“This grant will allow HHSA to continue to Build Better Health and improve the lives of the women, children, and families which is the cornerstone of the ‘Live Well, San Diego!’ initiative,” said Nick Macchione, HHSA Director. “The new funding will allow the existing program to coordinate with community partners to build effective and efficient pathways to important community resources.”
NFP helps improve outcomes for children and families including improved maternal and child health, reduced child maltreatment, increased parental employment and improved child development.
The partnership educates mothers in areas including prenatal care, labor and delivery, baby care, safety, nutrition, immunizations, domestic violence and substance abuse.
Research has shown that for every dollar invested in NFP, five dollars are saved across a number of public sector systems, including health care, child protection, education, criminal justice, mental health and public assistance.
“This program provides the necessary support and assistance to first-time mothers and their families so that they can become healthy, safe, and self-sufficient,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., Public Health Officer for San Diego County.“This will build upon the infrastructure already in place by working more collaboratively with community partners to broaden the reach of our services.”
