Can you share a success you have had in working with fathers?

Recently, a father that I meet with moved his family into a new home in a safer neighborhood!  This is a guy with a violent past, a history of emotionally distant relationships, unemployment, and drug use.  I’ve had the privilege linking him to community resources, working on relationship and communication skills and being a constant support as he discovers what being a man means to him.  Contrary to popular belief, men are not emotionally brain dead! They are capable of engaging their children and they are capable of forming meaningful relationships with other men.

We often discuss the parallel process between the relationships between staff and parents, and parents and their children; do you notice that same parallel process in your personal familial experiences, especially working with fathers?

Fathers father the way they were fathered.  Today’s young fathers carry the weight of the generations before them.  While a father’s desire to nurture and care for his child may be instinctive, the knowledge of how to do so is not!  Without having experienced what it means to be loved by a father, many dads are in the dark about how to love like one.  One of the most profound realizations for many fathers is that they have a choice to break the generational curse of fatherlessness and raise their child to know the love of a father.  Part of my role often involves being a positive male voice that encourages and believes in what these individuals are capable of.

Have you found any pertinent resources for fathers in Indianapolis that you use often?

There are some excellent resources in Indianapolis that Home Visitors should be linking fathers to.  Fathers and Families is a terrific resource. Kids Voice, Inc. offers legal services for fathers.  Additionally, there is a newly formed Indiana Coalition on Fatherhood (ICOF) dedicated to facilitating collaborations between agencies and provide resources for fathers.

What role does a man play in the prevention of child abuse and neglect?

A committed father makes a world of difference.  The statistics are staggering; and they speak for themselves.

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. (US Dept. Of Health/Census)
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. (US Dept. Of Health/Census)
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes. (Center for Disease Control)
• 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes. (Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26)
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. (National Principals Association Report)

In seeking to facilitate the best possible future for the families we serve, it is absolutely crucial that we focus on the father as part of the family.  All too often, dad is an afterthought.  In reality, an invested father many be one of the most significant catalysts for safety, health, and success in the life of a child.

• smoking during pregnancy
• infant having two or more siblings
• Medicaid enrollee
• unmarried
• infant low-birth weight
• less than high school education
• teen mother
• short spacing (under 15 months) between pregnancy
• poor pre-natal care
• adverse outcomes in prior pregnancy

Most of these factors are situations that occur BEFORE the child is born and even before pregnancy.

“Children younger than three years of age are the most likely of all children to become involved with Child Welfare Services, and they have the highest rate of victimization and maltreatment among all age groups.”

A child’s “mental health” refers to emotional well-being and positive social development from birth through age 5.  Services for at-risk households are crucial to prevent these young children from being neglected and abused. Promoting early childhood “mental health” through in-home visitation and parenting programs is a key element in preventing abuse and neglect.

This report was mainly done to research the possibilities of taking care of these children after they enter Child Welfare Services.  However, there are organizations out there that provide support for families, mothers, and siblings of newborns. Having the knowledge of where to find support services and resources is crucial to decreasing stress, breaking family history cycles, and increasing preventative measures to further reduce the risk of abuse and neglect.

Better Indy Babies and Healthy Families America are two resources provided by HealthNet throughout the Indianapolis community.  The staff here provide knowledge and support to families and parents who are pregnant or have children from age birth to 3.  You can help these two resources be of greater service to families in need.  Learn more about what tools are out there or donate directly by clicking here.

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Shop at Once Upon a Child?  Want to help the Better Indy Babies program?  Click on our ONCE UPON  A HEALTHY BABY tab to learn about our event on Saturday, January 28th!

The Senate agreed on a stop-gap funding bill yesterday, that if passed by the House will help keep the government funded and avoid any looming shutdown.  The reason it was able to come to this agreement was because FEMA reported that funding will not be run out until the start of FY2012 (which is October 1^st).

Many programs and organizations similar to HealthNet rely heavily on government funding to serve our populations to the best of our ability.  However, the further we get into budget and appropriations, the more we are seeing funding cuts or flat funding.

When money is tight, EVERYONE has to find a way to make do.  Families are dealing with tighter budgets than ever before, individuals are dealing with less job opportunities to recover any loss in income, and organizations are rebalancing their own budgets to make sure no losses occur.

What we can do to start FY2012 off right is…

control what we can control!

Unless you are a legislator who is reading this, you cannot physically present an amendment to increase funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers, Homeless Organizations, or Organizations who help at-risk youth.

But what you CAN do are these 3 things:

• Advocate
• Raise Awareness
• Donate

Advocacy is the closest we can get to writing an amendment.  We can tell legislators how important our services are to our communities and how much money is saved because of the services organizations like ours provide.

Raising awareness is letting others know how important our services are to the communities we live in.  A lot of people in Indianapolis don’t know about HealthNet or FQHCs, our Homeless Initiative Program, or our Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families programs because they don’t NEED our services.  But, I bet if our services were gone, then they would notice the effect.

Donating is the most direct way to show you give a care about our services.  Recognizing that during these tough times with budget debates and more, our communities need to support organizations that make our communities better.

Let’s start Fiscal Year 2012 off right by controlling what we can control and doing what is best for our community of Indianapolis!

It is Child Passenger Safety Week and HealthNet is celebrating because of a grant we received from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. The Child Restraint Distribution Grant program provided us with funding to purchase and distribute 100 infant car seats to expecting mother’s enrolled in our Better Indy Babies Program who can not afford one.

The funding allowed us to send our 8 home care coordinators to become Child Passenger Safety Technicians, so that they may teach these expecting mothers and families about the importance of proper restraints, and to demonstrate and instruct them on the proper installation of the car seat.

HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies (BIBs) began in 1989 to battle the infant mortality rate in Indianapolis which was one of the worst in the country. This program serves women in at-risk neighborhoods and the majority of them live at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. Our prenatal care coordinators visit with these expecting mothers and provide services to improve the health status of the women and to help them prepare their home and themselves for a new baby.

Many of these women can not afford to purchase a car seat and often resort to using or borrowing one that is not functional or safe, or none at all. This program will allow these women to have the correct seat needed once the baby is born and they will be educated on its proper installation, reducing the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident.

The cost of a car seat averages $100 – something most of our patients simply can not afford. We are currently serving 1,175 families in the Better Indy Babies Program – so more car seats are needed!

If you would like to donate to the BIBs program,
click here.  Even a $25 donation would be a great start toward proper child passenger safety!

This week is National Child Passenger Safety Week, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is coming to you to help spread awareness.

Did you know?
3 out of 4 children are not as secure in a car as
they should be because of incorrect use of car seats.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST, you can tune in on Twitter and ask questions to @childseatsafety using the #cpsweek hashtag!  A fun, interactive way to get your questions answered quickly.  You don’t have to sit through an informational video or a huge class. You can get answers in under 140 characters.

After tomorrow’s Twitter Q&A, be sure to catch our Thursday blog about how our Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families program staff are becoming certified to instruct parents and guardians on how to us a car seat properly.

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Want to support a family in need by helping them to receive a car seat?
A $75 donation can go toward the purchase of a car seat for BIBs/HF to distribute while giving instruction on the proper use.
Click here to donate and help keep all of Indianapolis’ children safe.
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photo by Find Me Famous

Adding the FUN to fundraising during one of these events is what Prevent Child Abuse America is inviting everyone to do!  A HOUSE PARTY to help raise awareness and funding for this cause.

Healthy Families America is a program that is part of Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA), and before Healthy Families America opened a branch in Indiana, children in our community had to be reported as being abused or neglected FIRST before a family could receive support services.

HealthNet‘s Better Indy Babies (BIBs) and Healthy Families (HF) Programs would love for your PCA America House Party to benefit them!! These two programs work hand in hand to make sure Indianapolis children ages
zero to 5 AND their families have the resources needed for the healthy development and success in the first years of school.

You can learn more about the great things being accomplished by our BIBs/HF staff by reading our introduction post here.

What do you think about throwing a house party
and fundraising at the same time?
Comment below!

Now, we want to hear from you, learn about you, and find out more about how we can work together to serve our clients to the best of our ability.

Here are three steps that will help us to do just that:

1.  #GiveACareAbout … yourself!

   We give a care about what you do, where you are located in the great city of Indianapolis, and how you are involved with community happenings and making Indy a better place to live.  You can quickly introduce yourself now by commenting below, or you can wait until later and tweet us, or start following us on Facebook and introduce yourself there.  Whatever way you choose, we want to know more about you and what YOU #giveacareabout.

2. #GiveACareAbout. … those who need it most!

   In our blog series earlier this month, we introduced you to our several of our outreach programs. Our Homeless Initiative Program, Better Indy Babies & Healthy Families program, School-Based Services, and our Health Promotions team all serve those who are most in need in the Indianapolis community.  We will often bring you opportunities to give a care about the program or programs you are interested in.

3. #GiveACareAbout … telling others how they can help!

   Share your #giveacareabout stories with your friends on Facebook!  When you tweet us what you #giveacareabout, you will get retweeted to our network.  Or, if you don’t want to be as vocal about it, then simply sign-up for our monthly e-newsletter and forward it to your friends.  Later this month, we will have a unique way to share what you #giveacareabout, so keep your eyes peeled!

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through 2011, but this second half is looking to be an exciting one!

Meet – Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families

Better Indy Babies (BIBs) is a free home visitation program for expecting mothers. BIBs is designed to promote a healthier you for a healthy pregnancy. Our efforts assist in healthy fetal development and help reduce infant immortality rates, SIDS, and foreseen childhood health problems. Since 1989, the program has been providing prenatal care coordination services and served as one of two pilot projects funded by the Marion County Divisions of Family and Children Services.

Healthy Families – Marion I (HF) is a voluntary home visitation program that works with parents and children from the age of 0-3 for healthy growth and development for the child through a variety of services including access to health care and parent education.

So here are the four things you should know about Better Indy Babies & Healthy Families.

1.  Separate names, but they work together to make one great program!

   As you may have noticed from reading above, both programs basically serve the same purpose — only in two different stages of a child’s life.  Both work toward proper care and development for all Indianapolis children through home visitation.

2. Together they provided more than 12,364 home visits last year.

   The result of a home visitation program such as BIBs/HF is a researched success.  A Healthy Families program in New York with a similar sister program like Better Indy Babies was featured in a research study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine where ‘pregnant women and adolescents were randomized to either an intervention group that received bi-weekly home-visitation services or to a control group’.  And the conclusion was this:

   

   photo by paparutzi

   “A prenatal home-visitation program with focus on social support, health education, and access to services holds promise for reducing low-birth-weight deliveries among at-risk women and adolescents.”
   
   

3. BIBs/HF is filled with tireless staff who not only visit these families, but also become an integral PART in their lives.

   This is true and can be seen in an earlier blog post that gave a recap of the BIBs/HF Picnic & Graduation Ceremony.  Read that post!

4. Assistance to help sustain this great program is always a need!

   There are plenty of ways to get involved with this great group of people!

   • Donate new or gently used baby items to the BIBs Pantry at University Heights United Methodist Church.
   • Consider a small gift. We can’t understate the significance of even a $5 donation to the BIBs/HF programs.  Raise awareness and tell your friends that you donated to this great program!  Together, we can help all children in Indianapolis get a GREAT start to LIFE.

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Interested in BIBs/HF?  Want to learn more?
Questions about Low birth weight and infant mortality in Indianapolis?
Comment below!
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Clients of the BIBs/HF program get a sense of community at the picnic. We all have had situations where we felt alone and as if we are the only person in the world going through a particular experience.  The BIBs/HF staff take pride in supporting clients, connecting them to community resources, and letting them know that they are NOT alone.

Both home-visitation programs are dedicated to meeting the needs of culturally diverse families in our community. They encourage self-sufficiency and healthy parent-child relationships. I had a chance to talk with three different families who attended the picnic. Support was the repeated and underlying feeling that shined through in every answer to my questions.

Carrie Tahat was a mother who was completely by herself when she found out about BIBs/HF in the hospital.

HealthNet: What services have been the most useful for you and your daughter?
Tahat: Receiving referrals and information to community resources.  When I was homeless they connected me with the program that helped me find an affordable place to stay.  BIBs/HF staff would even drive me to my doctor appointments when I really needed to get to the doctor.

They have been really helpful with all things for clothing, food, and shelter. I have been with the program for 8 months, and they have helped me with EVERYTHING that I have needed.

Melanie Smith was referred to BIBs/HF when she was 3 months pregnant and attending her appointment at HealthNet’s own Barrington Health Center.

HealthNet: If you met someone in a similar situation as yourself, what would you say to get them to seek out the services provided by BIBs/HF?
Smith: I have referred A LOT of people.  A lot of people come up to me and ask me HOW I am doing such a good job raising my children and make sure they are hitting their milestones.  I tell them that BIBs/HF is a great way to find support from people OTHER than your family.

They do a really good job of letting you know that you are not alone. They do a really good job of supporting YOU.

Cliff and Serena Williams have a 3-year-old son who is a GRADUATE of the program.  Serena had no idea about the support system available from BIBs/HF until she was referred by the doctor, and now she tells EVERY pregnant woman she meets that it is essential for them to get into this program.

HealthNet: What is the best part of the BIBs/HF program?
The Williams: The home visits are interactive and personal.  Our son has been a handful, and our home visitor has presented a wide variety of activities and strategies to help him reach his milestones and goals. 

There are so many more success stories like these! Together, HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies and Healthy Families programs provided more than 12,634 visits to at-risk homes in Marion County last year. With your help, they can do even more.

Every parent and parent-to-be needs support and encouragement. Know someone who might benefit from BIBs/HF’s programs? Email info@indyhealthnet.org to learn more!

The Indiana Youth Institute sent out an issue alert entitled “Kids Raising Kids“, and another surprising fact to accompany the increasing teen birth rates is that one in five of these births is to a teenage girl who already is a mother.

“Children born to teen mothers are more likely than children of older parents to grow up in a poor and mother-only family, to live in a poor or underclass neighborhood, and to experience high risks to both their health status and potential school achievement.”- Issue Alert from Indiana Youth Institute

These children are 50% more likely to be born at a low birth weight and do not perform as well as children of older mothers on measures of child development and school readiness.  With these numbers increasing in Indianapolis, it is important to know what resources are out there for teen mothers in order to help them out.  In a study done by the FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy, children born to teen mothers are more likely to experience abuse, neglect, and abandonment.

By raising awareness for HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies (BIBs) and Healthy Families (HF) Programs, we can change the wording of that last sentence.  Learn more about the resources available for teen mothers, or donate directly to BIBs/HF here.