Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies of Essex: Empowering communities by supporting community based organizations

Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies of Essex, Inc. (HM/HB-E) has been dedicated to educating and improving the health outcomes of women, children, and families in the four target cities of Newark, East Orange, Orange, and Irvington. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, allotted monies in 2007 to HM/HB-E to allocate to community based organizations that were dedicated to its mission, and possessed the capacity and resources to meet the required level of service as well as goals of the organization. This funding is renewable annually for up to three years and is contingent upon the availability of state HM/HB-E funding, program performance and documented progress. Proposals were reviewed by an objective and competent Review Panel, which made recommendations to the Board of Trustees with final approval from the state.

Three community based organizations were chosen whose focus centers on therapy and substance abuse treatment and its influence on parent-infant attachment; psycho education and life skills training to empower mothers to protect their unborn and infant children against domestic violence; and access to quality prenatal and infant pediatric health care to pregnant women, mothers of infants and infants as identified in need of a structured supportive health care and social service program respectively. During the 2007-2008 program year, HM/HB-E has provided outreach education and services to over 15,000 community residents, and consumers. Through the direction, planning, and oversight of funded projects, HM/HB-E seeks to reduce infant mortality, low birth weight and adolescent pregnancy.