Originating in North Carolina and active across 16 states, the Family Connects program is a pretty simple idea: What if the family of every newborn could voluntarily sign up for a home visit from a nurse within three weeks of the birth?
New parents would get connected to locally based health and supportive resources, potentially heading off problems before they can take root.
Katie Towns, Springfield-Greene County director of health, spoke to City Council on Monday night, advocating for the city to accept a pair of grants totaling some $140,000 to put Family Connects into practice.
In response to a question from Monica Horton, Zone 1 Councilwoman representing northwest Springfield, Towns said, "The social aspects that surround an individual, especially a baby, because that zero-to-three years of age is a crucial time period for the development of a child, and so if we can intervene at that point in time where there are opportunities to create improvements, then we are often able to help set that path of that child in a positive direction.”
Council members from a variety of perspectives welcomed the Family Connects effort, which would draw on resources from Jordan Valley Health Center, Mercy and CoxHealth.
Horton said, “This particular program, too, is the first of its kind in Greene County, and for it to be such an upstream, early-intervention type of health service for our community, it’s certainly well-received.”
Matt Simpson, Zone 4 Councilman, representing southeast Springfield, said, “I’m really excited that this has been in works for a long time, I’m really excited that we’re going to be able to bring this program to Springfield.”
The initial grant funding would come partly from the Missouri Children’s Trust Fund and partly from the Musgrave Foundation.
It would potentially help address early-childhood issues in Springfield, where a series of studies conducted by the Mayor’s Commission for Children since 2006 have found roughly one-quarter of children entering kindergarten are “not prepared” to start school.
Council is set to vote on the grants October 16.
