Home visitation and behavioral health services are two vital programs for improving health outcomes for Black moms, babies and families, yet both often go underfunded. Children’s Trust Fund of Missouri has invested in Generate Health to establish a collaborative of organizations that provide home visitation services to better coordinate their efforts. Additional funding from the Children’s Trust Fund will support the continued development and growth of the St. Louis Home Visiting Collaborative and Perinatal Behavioral Health Initiative (PBHI).
Black families in the St. Louis zip codes with the highest infant mortality rates face numerous barriers when trying to access the information and resources they need. These programs help bridge that gap to connect families to preventative maternal and child health services:
- PBHI is a network of service providers who connect pregnant women and moms to behavioral health services to support their overall emotional wellness. Intervention through the PBHI network is making a difference – 83% of women referred to for support through the network attended their referral appointments for behavioral health services, a very high retention rate. The program’s funding through the St. Louis Mental Health Board will be phased out in the coming years, so the Children’s Trust Fund grant is ensuring that we can continue this important work without interruption.
- The St. Louis Home Visiting Collaborative is a developing effort, in which FLOURISH is convening community members and home visiting providers to better understand where gaps exist in St. Louis’ home visiting programs and how to better connect programs with families to provide health, economic, educational, and social support. The Collaborative will support home visitation agencies in coordinating their efforts and engaging consumers to develop programs and services that are family centered. Currently more than 16,600 families have participated in home visiting programs in the St. Louis region.
“From our conversations with families, we know that behavioral health and home visiting services are so important in supporting pregnant and new moms,” said Leah Moser, director of planning and partnerships. “This grant will allow us to develop a strategic plan for attracting long-term investments in St. Louis’ home visitation and perinatal behavioral health services.”