Baltimore Healthy Start

Healthy Start - provide fetal monitoring, health insurance assistance, infection testing, outreach, intense case management and on-site parenting groups, breastfeeding education, fatherhood services, prenatal stress reductions.

Positive outcomes for infants & toddlers - the Baltimore Healthy Start (bhs) promoting positive outcomes for infants and toddlers project addresses the problem of disparities in kindergarten readiness for Baltimore city low-income and african-american and latinx children, specifically children living in the highly disadvantaged bhs project area.parents of infants and toddlers living within the Baltimore Healthy Start project area, comprised of 26 census tracts in east Baltimore and west Baltimore, is the target population.the projected numbers of parents of infants and toddlers served is 84 , across an annual cycle of six 8-week circle of security parenting groups.the ultimate goal of the project is to improve kindergarten readiness of bhs project area children through building and enhancing parent-child attachment through offering circle of security parenting groups. The groups provide education, guidance, and support to help parents nurture their child's attachment, emotional resilience, and curiosity and freedom to explore. Measurable outcomes include: percentage of participants who report a decrease in parenting stress; percentage of participants who relay at least one practice or modified behavior they have implemented as a result of program participation; and percentage of participants whose response to parent-child scenarios exhibit a greater understanding of child's needs at program completion compared to beginning of program.additional strategies include core bhs case management, care coordination, and home-visiting services, which include anticipatory early childhood development guidance at home visits using the growing great kids curriculum. Bhs core services mitigate multiple adverse social determinants of health through social support, guidance, and an array of service referrals.partners include the judy center and st. vincent de paul early head Start, which will refer parents participating in their respective programs for cos-p groups at their sites.

Babies born Healthy - provide fetal monitoring, health insurance assistance, infection testing, outreach, intense case management and on-site parenting groups, breastfeeding education, fatherhood services, prenatal stress reductions.