DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families

The DRU/Mondawmin (DRUM) Healthy Families is a non-profit organization committed to providing holistic strength based support to families with pregnant women and young children. It is a volunteer program that acknowledges and adheres to the principle that each family has its own unique strengths and if given appropriate guidance and support those strengths will be maximized in such a way that both parents and child will ultimately flourish. Our staff of social workers, educators, family assessment workers and family support workers, provides support to both the mothers and fathers during pregnancy to promote the birth of a healthy infant, and support after the birth of their children to strengthen them as individuals and as a unit. Parents are given the benefit of referrals, resources, education and support that provides the foundation the child ultimately needs in order to grow and to thrive. Each family CREATES individualized goals that embody the concepts of healthy families and self reliance. DRUM Healthy Families provides holistic and comprehensive in-home visitation services in an effort to assist families in understanding the contributing factors that are more likely to result in the birth of a healthy infant and to the safety and health of young children. Families also receive support that promotes school readiness as well as achieving identified individualized family goals. In addition to home visits, families are supported in achieving those objectives through health and mental health supportive services, educational workshops, parent support groups, life skills training and creative Literacy and Learning playgroups.

Program Mission

DRU/Mondawmin (DRUM) Healthy Families is committed to providing strength based quality support to families with pregnant women and young children from birth to school readiness in order to enhance the lives of the parents and positively impact the safety and development of healthy children.

Core Values

DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Family Core values center around the use of a Family-Centered Approach. This approach acknowledges that families are The Primary decision makers regarding their children’s learning experiences and development. Through this approach the following tools are utilized:

•Advocacy: Advocacy is powerful. It can cause positive changes in the lives of the children whose families practice it, as well as within larger circles of children and families in the community.

•Collaboration: All members of a team - those persons designated by the family to provide support - are valuable when working together in the best interest of the child and family. A combination of unique strengths and roles forms the foundation.

•Self Reliance: Each caregiver has a right and responsibility to maintain his/her own family. •Natural Environments: Families and children get support within, and relevant to, the places and activities that impact their lives.

History

Under the leadership of Hathaway Ferebee at Safe and Sound and with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an initiative began to achieve systemic and far-reaching change in the lives of children in Baltimore City. From this initiative emerged a partnership designed to ensure that infants are born healthy, live in safe and nurturing families, and are ready to learn when they enter school. At that time the need to support families with children in Baltimore City was great.

Representatives from various communities in Baltimore City were invited to participate in this campaign. In 1999, a collaborative partnership of faith based programs, community based organizations and head start programs, developed the concept of the DRU (Druid Heights, Reservoir Hill, Upton Communities) partnership initiative that was designed to support families with children ages 0 – 5. This occurred at a time when it was evident that the children in the community were becomingly increasingly vulnerable. Infant mortality and other negative birth outcomes were among some of the significant issues that needed to be addressed in a community that was challenged by negative health indices, economic disenfranchisement and significant violence. Also, researchers and educators were placing more emphasis on the fact that environmental influences have long-lasting effects on brain development. By the time children are 3, their brain patterns are fully developed and by the time children are 6, they have the fundamental traits in place to either succeed or fail throughout adult life.

Mission

DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Family Core values center around the use of a Family-Centered Approach. This approach acknowledges that families are the primary decision makers regarding their children’s learning experiences and development. Through this approach the following tools are utilized:

•Advocacy: Advocacy is powerful. It can cause positive changes in the lives of the children whose families practice it, as well as within larger circles of children and families in the community.
•Collaboration: All members of a team - those persons designated by the family to provide support - are valuable when working together in the best interest of the child and family. A combination of unique strengths and roles forms the foundation.
•Self Reliance: Each caregiver has a right and responsibility to maintain his/her own family.
•Natural Environments: Families and children get support within, and relevant to, the places and activities that impact their lives.

Eligibility

Expectant parents who are residents of …

Druid Heights

Reservoir Hill

Upton

Mondawmin

Families are identified through a systematic review process

Milestones

In February 2000, DRU Healthy Families (DRU HF) Program received initial funding to support families using the research based Healthy Family America approach. The initial communities supported by the Program were Druid Heights, Reservoir Hill and Upton. At that time, Union Baptist-Harvey Johnson Head Start Program was the program’s host agency and the Families and Children Services of Central Maryland, Inc. was the lead agency.

In 2000, a parent support group was established to promote support networks between families in the program and provide discussion on topics of interest to participants.

In 2001, a Creative Literacy and Learning Playgroup was initiated to provide parents an opportunity to learn to maximize the caring moments for their children and to observe and model appropriate parent-child interactions.

In 2001, DRU HF in collaborative partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools and other community partners obtained funding to establish a Judy Center, which focuses on school readiness, at the John Eager Howard Elementary School of Baltimore City.

In 2002, the program began utilizing the national “Parents as Teachers Curriculum”. All DRUM HF program direct service providers, supervisors and program managers are certified as Parents as Teachers educators.

In 2003, the program was credentialed by the Prevent Child Abuse America’s Healthy Families America Credentialing Board (credentialing certifies that the program has met the standards for home visitations as established in the critical elements of the Healthy Families Initiative). The fact that the Program is credentialed demonstrates that it adheres to research based best practices in providing support to families. Though following specific guidelines, the Program still has adequate flexibility to be responsive to the needs of the community.

In 2004, the DRU Healthy Families Program accepted the challenge of expanding its area of responsibility for support to families and became the DRUM (Druid Heights/Reservoir Hill/Upton/Mondawmin) Healthy Families.

In 2004, the program was incorporated and selected its first Board of Directors.

In December 2005, the program received non-profit status—(501 (c) (3)--and became an independent organization within the Baltimore City Success by 6 Initiative.

In 2006, a partnership was developed with Morgan State University School of Public Health. This beneficial partnership has provided students who prepared the Programs first electronic professional marketing material and access to a Kellogg’s postdoctoral fellow who is working directly with DRUM HF. Other partnerships at the University have resulted from the one with the School of Public Health. In 2008, the Department of social work partnered with DRUM HF to provide a mechanism for our program to disseminate information from the National Library of Medicine eHealth resources through a web portal developed by Morgan. The web portal is identified as MINDS.com eHealth and will provide a mechanism through which staff and community residents, including DRUM HF participants, can access online technology through the National Library of Medicine. This data base provides information on healthy lifestyles and strategies that support sound health care decisions.

During fiscal year, 2008, DRU/M HF received one-year funding from Baltimore City to enhance program activities. The funds were used to support the following programmatic activities:

•On-site mental health counselor •In home nurses to assess the pre-natal and post-natal health of mothers and assess the health of the infants •On-site job development skills training, and budgeting and financial management training •Outreach workers to recruit pregnant women to participate and to enhance visibility in the communities serviced •On-site workshops provided by nurses and mental health counselor In 2008, in collaborative partnership with Johns Hopkins, DRUM HF and other home visiting programs in the city developed critical evaluation strategies to assess the unhealthy habits and behaviors of parents that could negatively impact birth outcomes.

In its nine years of service, DRUM Healthy Families enhancement programs have expanded to meet the needs of the families and children that we serve. The outreach and educational activities have had a significant impact on infant mortality among families that we support. There has been no infant mortality of any target child in the program. During fiscal year 2008, the percentage of low birth weights among families supported was substantially lower than the overall percentage in the communities supported. The families that participate in the programs are more self reliant, exhibit improved parenting skills and are capable of supporting their children so that they may thrive physically, emotionally and socially. As we continue to expand our support to families in Baltimore City, we will expand our collaborations with other individuals, agencies and stakeholders interested in advancing the health, safety, school readiness, self sufficiency and rights of families and children.

Programs and Services

Overview

Through home visits, educational opportunities and resource development, the DRU/M Healthy Families Program brings special instruction and support to parents in their natural environments. We also provide important supportive services, including advocacy, parent support, professional consultation and workshops on topics related to pre-natal care, child development, appropriate parent-child interactions, life skills development and economic empowerment. Since founded, we have provided services to over 500 families in the targeted communities. We currently make over 2,900 direct service visits per year, complemented by over 600 supportive service contacts each year. Our services are designed to holistically address the needs of the parents in order to support their transition from pregnancy to parenting. We help our families by providing them with information on steps that they can take to have healthy babies. We then continue to assist them over time in order to ensure that the family has the necessary skills and resources that will move them to self sufficiency. This proactive approach supports the program’s mission to aid families in their efforts to transition healthy babies into healthy preschoolers who are ready to learn.

Community Outreach

The Community Outreach is one of the major components of the Program’s support to families. Our staff of well trained and dedicated family support workers visits the home and provides comprehensive services that support the development of the family unit in order to ensure a positive outcome for the unborn or young child. Specific services include:

Health Support

•Ensuring that the prenatal mother bonds with her unborn child and that they both have proper medical services •Assisting parents with obtaining medical providers and insurance coverage for the remainder of family •Providing access to mental health specialists evaluations and referrals •Providing access to public health nurses •Supporting parents in following the recommended immunization schedules and maintaining the appropriate records •Providing child development assessment Family Support

The Family Support Program offers information, consultation, resources and referrals to the parents in order to provide them with the necessary skills to positively impact their lives and the lives of their children. We help families navigate through their options, maximize their choices and support them in the decisions they make. Some examples of our Family Support activities include:

•Parent support, education and advocacy; also, through the parent support group, networks of support are formed among parents •Positive parenting workshops and training •Referrals for resources such as GED, housing, employment counseling and for evaluation, if necessary, when there is an apparent developmental delay •Healthy Relationship counseling and training •Creative literacy and learning playgroups where parents form a network of support among other attendees as they observe their children at play and interacting with other children

Self Reliance

A healthy family begins with healthy individuals.An integral portion of the DRUM Healthy Families’ philosophy is the importance of individuals and families being given the opportunity, resources and support to achieve their self identified goals.Self reliance promotes independence and it allows individuals to make healthy proactive choices and decisions.To that end, families that participate in DRUM Healthy Families’ program are given access to interactive educational training, supportive services, and referrals that strengthen the family’s foundation and promote self reliance.Among the support provided that promote self reliance are job skills training, economic empowerment training, and educational referrals and self-improvement workshops.

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