Agency goal: Get mom, child off to a good start

A couple of years ago, Jennifer had a job and an apartment and was doing just fine. Then she found out she was pregnant — a high-risk pregnancy with twins — and things spiraled out of control. She couldn’t work. She lost her apartment. The babies’ father stepped out of the picture. And in just a few short weeks, Jennifer – whose last name is being withheld to protect her privacy – was trying to figure out how she was going to cope with a difficult pregnancy while living in her car.

She isn’t sure who told her about Nurse-Family Partnership, but Jennifer remembers what happened when they did. “They sent a nurse to talk to me quickly, and we talked about my situation. It was a really big help just to know someone else was there. It wasn’t that they were going to make my problems go away, but just knowing they were there, I knew we were going to be OK,” Jennifer said.

Nurse-Family Partnership Program, a service of Maternal & Family Health Services, is one of eight nonprofit organizations featured in this year’s Giving Guide. These organizations rely on grants and donations and face reduced funds and possible cuts in services because of the trying economic times. Readers are encouraged to learn about the organizations and their needs and consider remembering the organization or organizations of their choice with a donation during this holiday season.

“Every time my nurse came, she told me how my babies were developing. They taught me how to eat and helped me find permanent housing so I didn’t have to live in my car,” Jennifer said. “They taught me what I needed to do to take care of them and helped me get some baby essentials, since I wasn’t working. And when the babies were born, they checked up on them and gave me lots of helpful information on how babies develop.”

That information helped Jennifer realize something was wrong, and though they are just toddlers now, the twins have already been diagnosed with autism. “Everyone is surprised with how early they were diagnosed. Having me more knowledgeable and better prepared made all the difference in finding out, and that could make a difference in them talking or not talking, the difference in how far they go. I don’t think I would have known what to do or even that there was a developmental delay if it wasn’t for them,” the young mother said.

According to NFP Supervisor Kathy Krivenko, that’s what the program is all about. “It’s not just about social services,” Krivenko said. “It’s empowering these women and teaching them what they need to take care of their child for the rest of its life. We want to teach them how to get for themselves and do for themselves. We don’t just hand out things, we teach them skills.”

Krivenko said the eight nurses have three goals. “We want to improve pregnancy outcomes — you want a healthy pregnancy,” she said. “We want to teach the parent to care for her child, not only physically but emotionally, so the child is healthy and ready to start school. And we want to support the child to live in the community and become a participating member of that community. Our program has long-lasting results because getting a better start makes the mom and the child more productive and less dependent on services,” Krivenko said.

The program has served the area for the last 10 years, and Krivenko said the evidence proves the program is a success. “We have an outstanding record with our moms getting their GEDs, staying in school and getting and staying employed, and even going on to higher education,” she said. “It’s important to help them because the mom and child are members of society, and if we don’t educate her to raise this child to the best of her ability, this child is going to grow up to repeat the cycle.”

“It’s all about behavior changes,” said Maternal and Family Health Services President and Chief Operating Officer Bette Cox Saxton. “It’s been proven that the children of mothers in a nurse-managed program do better. The moms are better able to provide physically and emotionally; the children are more stable, they do better in school and there is less delinquency. They contribute to the future health of the community.”

That being the case, the future health of the community may take a hit because of today’s recession, Saxton said. “The recession has increased the need. So many have lost their jobs and with it their health insurance. There’s more demand on clinics just when they have to cut their hours.” But just as the need increases, funding for services is down. “NFP suffered significant cuts in the last state budget mess and our capacity to serve is cut by 25 families,” Saxton said. They are turning to the community to fill the gap.

“Our nurses are phenomenal, but they need resources,” said Saxton. “It costs a lot to have a baby. There’s so much you need, and the median income for these moms is $13,500. It’s hard to provide for all you need. Most moms have a baby shower. These moms have us,” she said.

NFP’s wish list includes Pack and Play cribs, high chairs, toddler-sized car seats and all those baby shower-type items new babies need lots of: blankets, crib sheets, bottles, onesies and the like. They can also use formula, diapers and wipes—and cash.

“It’s not an entitlement program,” said Saxton. “We teach them how to plan ahead, to think about if they are going to have enough formula and diapers, and how to marshal their own resources. But sometimes, they just need a little help to make it.”

That’s what NFP meant for Jennifer. Now, two years later, she is married and she, her husband and children are searching for their first house. “I don’t think they gave me a handout,” she said. “They gave me the self-esteem boost to know I would be OK and that I could change our lives. I’m very grateful I haven’t had to think too much about what would have happened if I didn’t have Nurse-Family Partnership, but I might not have been able to keep my children. I don’t think I would have been able to care for them or myself, and now I can take care of all of us.”