Every Child Succeeds Program Improves Health and Well-being
CINCINNATI -- The first analysis of Every Child Succeeds, a program founded to ensure an optimal start in life for at-risk, first-time mothers and their children, shows that the program has resulted in significant improvements in maternal and child health and well-being.
Every Child Succeeds (ECS) is a collaboration among 21 community agencies, including three founding partners: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency/Head Start, and United Way & Community Chest. The program contracts with community-based agencies to provide home visitation services from professional, family-support workers.
The evaluation shows that ECS exceeds key measures of maternal and child health compared to similar populations in the United States. These measures include normal development of young children, maternal depression, reported child abuse and neglect, and the use of alcohol, tobacco or other substances during pregnancy.
"We are eager to demonstrate to our community that our performance measured against national benchmarks validates its investment in our children and young families," says Judith Van Ginkel, PhD, president of ECS.
"ECS has thousands of stakeholders, including a network of more than 100 professional home visitors, all of the birthing hospitals in the area, funders, volunteers, community agencies and prenatal clinics. This powerful regional public/private partnership ensures that our families get off to the best possible start and that their children grow in an environment that is safe, nurturing and prepares them to enter school."
"These preliminary findings reinforce United Way's conviction that programs that start with our very youngest children and their families can have an enormous payoff both for them and for our community," says Robert C. Reifsnyder, United Way president. "I'm very excited to see progress being made. We're proud to be a founding partner."
Among the highlights of the ECS analysis are:
• More than 91 percent of children in the program are developing normally, compared to 65 to 84 percent developing normally in similar populations without ECS
• Alcohol use during pregnancy was 18 percent, about half that reported by similar populations without ECS
• Substance abuse was well below similar populations
• Reduction in smoking during pregnancy: Mothers in ECS are twice as likely to smoke prior to pregnancy but show dramatic reductions in tobacco use during pregnancy – 94 percent compared to 30 to 39 percent
• Mothers in ECS have a higher rate of depression (29 percent versus 6 to 10 percent in the general population), but depressed mothers in ECS improve at rates about twice that found in similar populations
ECS provides new families with regular home visits, parenting support and education, connection with available community resources, monthly "parent-aid" bags with educational and useful items for mothers and their babies, stimulating activities for babies, support from other first-time parents, tracking and supporting of babies' development, and services until children reach the age of 3.
Home visitors assist families with setting and achieving goals, ensuring the safety of the home environment, identifying activities to meet specific developmental needs of their children and prepare them for preschool, and obtaining information for families about areas of special interest to them. Since ECS began in 1999, professional home visitors have made more than 55,400 visits to first-time mothers.
More than 2,800 first-time mothers have been enrolled in the program since its inception, and about 1,600 are currently enrolled. Most have been referred by birthing hospitals or community agencies. The average age of mothers in the program is about 20. Nearly two-thirds are Caucasian and one-third African-American. Three of every four mothers are in school or working after being in the program for six months.
To be eligible for the program, parents must have at least one of four risk factors: unmarried, low income, less than 18 years old, and have either late or no prenatal care. They also must live in Hamilton, Brown, Butler or Clermont Counties in Ohio, or Boone, Campbell or Kenton Counties in Kentucky.
Lead funding for ECS, currently $2 million, is provided by the United Way. Public funding is provided through the Ohio Department of Health's Help Me Grow program, the Kentucky HANDS program, and the departments of Jobs and Family Services in Hamilton, Brown, Butler and Clermont Counties.
Contact Information
Jim Feuer, 513-636-4656,
jfeuer@chmcc.org
