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Under
the program, first-time mothers meet with a registered nurse early
in pregnancy and nurse home visits that continue through the
child’s second birthday. Registered
nurses visit weekly for the first month after enrollment and then
every other week until the baby is born. Visits are weekly for the
first six weeks after the baby is born, and then every other week
until the child is 20 months old. The last four visits are monthly
until the child is two years old.
“The nurse really becomes part of the family,” said Rhett Mabry,
Director of Child Care for The Duke Endowment. “And with that
compassionate, professional, consistent support, families do better.
The Duke Endowment is very pleased to support this program, and we
look forward to seeing the positive impact it will make on families
and children.”
The North Carolina NFP plans to share the successes from these
expansion counties to encourage continued support for the program
through public and private sources.
“The evidence is clear and compelling. Nurse-Family Partnership
works to help both parents and children,” said John Frank,
Director of the Health Care Division for The Kate B. Reynolds
Charitable Trust. “We think it’s important to leverage that
success for people across
North Carolina
.”
NFP Nurse Home Visitors work with their clients to achieve three
goals:
·
Improve
pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in preventive health
practices, including obtaining thorough prenatal care from their
healthcare providers, improving their diet, and reducing their use
of cigarettes, alcohol and illegal substances;
·
Improve
child health and development by helping parents provide responsible
and competent care; and
·
Improve
the economic self-sufficiency of the family by helping parents
develop a vision for their own future, plan future pregnancies,
continue their education and find work.
“We have a longstanding tradition of supporting quality early
childhood initiatives in
North Carolina
that show strong, long-term results,” said Stephanie Fanjul,
president of the North Carolina Partnership for Children.
“Expanding the NFP to more counties will give us the opportunity
to reach even more families and make a difference for the parents
and their children.”
Independent research proves that communities
benefit from this relationship — every
dollar invested in Nurse-Family Partnership can yield more than five
dollars in return.
“We have no doubt that Nurse-Family Partnership will have powerful
and positive results for
North Carolina
’s children and families,” said Rosemarie Allen, CEO/President
of Prevent Child Abuse NC. “We hope that children in all 100 of
our state’s counties will be able to benefit from this program in
the future, and we will continue to work to make sure that
happens.”
About
the
North Carolina
Nurse-Family Partnership Partners
The Duke Endowment, in
Charlotte
,
N.C.
, seeks to fulfill the legacy of James B. Duke enriching lives and
communities in the
Carolinas
through higher education, health care, rural churches and
children’s services. With assets of over $3 billion, the Endowment
has awarded more than $2.4 billion in grants since its inception in
1924.
The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
works to improve the quality of life and quality of health for the
financially needy of
North Carolina
. Since the Trust began in 1947, its assets have grown from $5
million to $600 million, placing it among the largest in the state,
and the Trust has invested more than $400 million toward improving
life and health for needy residents of North Carolina.
The North Carolina Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the largest agency in state
government, responsible for ensuring the health, safety and well
being of all
North Carolinians
. The mission of DHHS is to provide efficient services that enhance
the quality of life of
North Carolina
individuals and families so that they have opportunities for
healthier and safer lives, resulting ultimately in the achievement
of economic and personal independence. The Division of Public Health
(DPH) works to promote and contribute to the highest possible level
of health for the people of the state.
Prevent
Child Abuse North Carolina is the only statewide, nonprofit
organization dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect
in all of its forms. We are a state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse
America
with a thriving statewide Prevention Network. Our Prevention Network
consists of over 300 organizations and volunteers working to
implement child abuse prevention programs in their local
communities.
The North Carolina Partnership
for Children leads the state’s Smart Start initiative. Smart
Start is
North Carolina
’s early childhood leadership network dedicated to assuring that
every child reaches his or her potential and is prepared for success
in a global community.
The Nurse-Family
Partnership National Service Office is committed to producing
enduring improvements in the health and well being of low-income,
first-time parents and their children by helping communities
implement and sustain an evidence-based program of home visiting by
registered nurses. It is the most rigorously tested program of its
kind. Randomized, controlled trials conducted over the past 30 years
demonstrate multi-generational outcomes that benefit society
economically and reduce long-term social service expenditure.
Mothers and children who have participated in the program have
consistently demonstrated significantly improved prenatal health,
fewer childhood injuries, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased
intervals between births, reductions in child abuse and neglect,
reduced involvement with crime, increased maternal employment and
improved school readiness.
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