Jefferson Area CHiP (Children's Health Improvement Program)

Jefferson Area CHiP partners with low-income, at-risk families with children ages 0 through 6 and pregnant women, to help their children have a healthy start in a nurturing, stable and healthy home. CHiP accomplishes this through a comprehensive home visiting approach provided by teams of Community Health Nurses and Family Support Workers. Through health education and health care access, parenting education and support, and by helping families access vital community resources, CHiP empowers parents so that they can provide the best opportunity for a healthy and successful future for their children.

Results of a 2011 study show that after just one year of work with CHiP,

• 90% of children were enrolled in a preschool or childcare center, compared to 40% at entry;
• 44% of parents were employed, up from 20% at enrollment;
• 98% of children were up to date on their immunizations;
• 93% of children had met essential milestones on the Ages and Stages Developmental screening tool, and the 5% who needed further assessments had received them;
• 88% of pregnant women, including teens, kept all their prenatal appointments; and
• 95% of children were up to date on well-child care overall.

Health

Parenteen is a teen pregnancy and parenting program that addresses the unique challenges faced by low-income teens who become pregnant and become parents. Our diverse and creative outreach efforts connect with teens in their home, at school and in groups while we focus on the following objectives:

* Educating pregnant teens on the importance of prenatal health and helping them access prenatal medical care;
* Encouraging teens to continue their education by providing access to educational options and childcare resources that are available to them;
* Educating teens about parenting and child development to help them responsible, caring and well-prepared parents;
* Working with teens to develop goals for future success, self sufficiency and family planning.

The following are some of the positive outcomes achieved through the Parenteen program:
* 88% of our pregnant teens kept 100% of their prenatal appointments;
* 100% kept all postpartum appointments;
* 94% returned to school or received their GED;
* 88% kept their well-child checkups;
* 90% of the infants were meeting developmental milestones based on the Ages & Stages developmental assessment.

Health