December 2011 e-Newsletter
Happy Holidays from Healthy Start!
Wishing you a happy holidays and a joyous New Year!
--From the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition
Governor’s Budget Restores Funding for Healthy Start
The Governor’s proposed 2012 budget
recommends restoration of $5.4 million in funding for the Florida Healthy Start program. The budget reinstates cuts made to the program in the final hours of the 2011 legislative session which resulted in the elimination of care to an estimated 22,600 pregnant women and newborns statewide. In Northeast Florida, initial funding for Healthy Start agencies was reduced by more than $540,000; additional mid-year cuts are expected due to losses in federal waiver funding. The Governor’s budget recommendations will go to the legislature for consideration as lawmakers craft the final state budget for 2012.
Community plan unveiled to public, teen pregnancy and births brought to public’s attention
To find out how to reduce teen pregnancy, the Northeast Florida Teen Pregnancy Task Force talked to the experts — the teens themselves.
And as the Task Force’s community action plan was officially released to the public Dec. 7, teens who have been through successful programs and beaten the odds were there to validate the recommendations in “Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Northeast Florida: A Plan for Community Action.”
The report was released at the Bridge of Northeast Florida, a multi-service teen center that was created after the last teen pregnancy study was conducted nearly 30 years ago by JCCI. While teen birth rates have declined since then, Jacksonville-area teens continue to give birth at a higher rate than teens state- and nation-wide.
Speakers included:
- Sandy Cook, Task Force Co-Chair
- Joy Burgess, Task Force Co-Chair
- Kerry Dunlavey, Baker County Health Department
- Peter Racine, Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation & Task Force Participant
- Carlisa Morris, Teen Mother and Task Force Participant
- Carol Brady, Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition
Current and past “Straight Talk” participants were also in the audience and shared their stories with attendees.
If you are interested in a presentation about the report and its recommendations, contact Erin Petrie at epetrie@nefhsc.org or 904-723-5422 x112.
"Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Northeast Florida: A Plan for Community Action"
Read the full plan here.
News coverage of the plan:
Maternal & Child Health Headlines
Text4Baby unveils Web enrollment option. Read more.
Boot Camp for New Dads: St. Johns County workshop scheduled for January 21. Read more.
Coalition receives funding to enroll elementary and middle school students in Florida KidCare. Read more.
Shands Jacksonville, Flagler Hospital recognized for support of breastfeeding employees. Read more.
Chip in for Youth: Coalition participating in PGA Tour -- Players Championship ticket sale
Looking for a last minute gift this holiday season?
The Coalition has "Any One Day" tickets to the 2012 PLAYERS Championship on sale for $40 -- less than the regular ground pass price of $55 and the proceeds will benefits children's organizations.
Of the purchase price, $25 of the proceeds will go to the Coalition while the remaining amount will benefit The First Tee.
To support us, use code TP3KTND when purchasing tickets online at http://www.chipinforyouth.com
The tournament is May 7-13, 2012 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Jacksonville completes first step in approval as NFP site
The Coalition received initial site approval from the Nurse Family Partnership program, allowing implementation activities to begin in January. The evidence-based home visiting model will be implemented for first-time mothers in three low-income Jacksonville communities.
The Coalition was one of five sites funded by the state under the federal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) initiative. The Nurse Family Partnership will be implemented by a specially trained team of nurses from the Duval County Health Department and Shands Jacksonville. Team members will complete training in Denver prior to serving families.
The model, which provides intensive education and support to pregnant and postpartum mothers, has a proven impact on birth outcomes, repeat teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect and other key measures. About 100 families will be served annually by the program.
Evaluation highlights success of parenting pilot
Participants in the New Town Success Zone Children’s University pilot significantly improved their knowledge and behavior in key areas of parenting according to a final evaluation report.
An analysis of pre- and post-questionnaires completed by participants showed significant gains in parent/caregiver interaction, specifically reading; bed sharing; understanding discipline vs. punishment, and selected home safety activities. Following completion of the parenting series, all participants indicated that playing, reading and discipline all impacted brain development in children, rather than just one of these activities alone.
Shands Jacksonville implemented the year-long pilot using a research-based curriculum developed by the Jacksonville Children’s Commission. Funding was provided by Healthy Start and the Community Foundation of Jacksonville. A total of 64 parents and other caregivers participated in the pilot, half of whom completed the entire series of classes.
The New Town Success Zone (NTSZ) is collaborative, community effort to develop a continuum of services for children age 0-18 in a designated neighborhood of Jacksonville.
Azalea Project receives JAG funding
The Azalea Project received $17,000 in funding from the federal Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) awarded to the City of Jacksonville to serve high-risk substance-affected women involved in the criminal justice system.
The project will provide one-on-one education and support services aimed at reducing substance use and associated risk taking behavior which contribute to the City’s high rates of crime, sexually transmitted infections, infant mortality and related social problems. Participants will be court-ordered or referred by other community agencies and treatment providers.
Jacksonville is one of the top cities in the state impacted by the rise in illicit and legal substance abuse among women of childbearing age.
Healthy Start, Jax Kids Coalition host 4th Annual Advocacy Training
Healthy Start and the Jacksonville Kids Coalition partnered again this year for their fourth annual Advocacy Training on Monday, Dec. 12. Held each year just prior to legislative session, the training aims to educate attendees on advocacy basics and equip them with strategies and tactics to advocate on behalf of children. Over 40 people attended the training, including staff and board members from local child-serving agencies as well as local child advocates.
The training was facilitated by Mr. Mike Hightower, Vice President, Governmental & Legislative Affairs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of FL. Mr. Mike Hightower, an experienced BCBS FL lobbyist, spoke about advocacy basics and advocacy vs. lobbying.
Dr. Stephen Baker followed, addressing the complicated yet important question, “Why Should we Care about Redistricting?”
The training wrapped up with four round table discussions. The discussions featured PeDro Cohen, Executive Director of the New Town Success Zone and Peggy Wade, New Town resident, speaking on “Grassroots Advocacy”; Melanie Lawson, Reporter/Anchor WJXT Channel 4, addressing “Getting your Message to the Media”; Linda Asay, J.D., Healthy Start Coalition Chair and Rev. Tom Rodgers, Healthy Start Coalition board member, addressing “Board Engagement”; and Florida Senator Stephen R. Wise, District 5, covering “Communicating with your Legislator.”
A special thanks to all of our presenters and the Early Learning Coalition of Duval for hosting the event.
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