Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Every Child Succeeds/Cincinnati
Every Child Succeeds is a partnership of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Cincinnati–Hamilton County Community Action Agency, and 16 provider agencies. The program involves regular home visits to first-time, at-risk mothers from the time of pregnancy to the child’s third birthday. Nurses, social workers and child-development specialists provide interventions and assessments designed to achieve good health and psychosocial adjustment, with the ultimate goals of optimizing early brain development and readying the child for school.
The average Every Child Succeeds mother is 20 years old at the time of enrollment, and more than 90 percent are unmarried; most have low incomes; and nearly one-third have received late, inadequate or no prenatal care. Those factors put their children at higher risk for delayed development, abuse, neglect and poor academic achievement.
An array of indexes measuring health and safety, learning and development, nurturing and effective parenting, and physiological development indicate that it is making a difference. Arguably the most significant outcome is a lower rate of infant mortality. Among ECS families, the rate is 4.7 per 1,000 live births, compared with 17.4 per 1,000 in Cincinnati and 8.3 per 1,000 for the state of Ohio.
Every Child Succeeds achieves those outcomes by thoroughly researching developmentally appropriate interventions and assessments, developing a comprehensive curriculum with easy-to-access resources, and extensively training the more than 120 professionals providing in-home visits.
The close relationship of participating organizations is another success factor. Home visitors are employed by the 16 provider agencies, which all operate off well-articulated protocols, program deliverables and a common training curriculum. About 40 percent of the budget comes from private sources; the United Way of Greater Cincinnati contributes approximately $2.5 million annually. Medicaid and other state programs are the source of public funding.
Results:
- The program has provided approximately 250,000 visits to 13,000 families since 1999.
- Lower infant mortality among participants, 4.7 per 1,000 live births versus 13.9 per 1,000 in Hamilton County and 17.4 per 1,000 in Cincinnati.
- 90 % of ECS kids have safe play environments.
- 92 % of parents support active learning.
- 87 % of moms are more nurturing and meet kids’ emotional needs.
***For further information, please visit, http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/e/every-child/default.htm
Published: January 26, 2009
