Project Summary

In 2007 the Bella Vista Foundation (BVF) and First 5 San Francisco (First 5) co-funded a city-wide needs assessment to review current services available to families with children 0-3 years old, determine gaps in services, and develop ideas for new needed services; BVF’s support helped focus the project on the needs of parents experiencing depression and/or stress. The project involved a think tank that included several city departments and community organizations. The needs assessment resulted in a Prenatal to Three Outcome Matrix that addressed desired outcomes, risk factors for children and families, indicators for positive change, successful intervention strategies, and actions to be taken by service providers. The Matrix in turn supported the creation of First 5’s request for proposal (RFP) for a three-year, neighborhood-based collaborative effort. First 5 posted the RFP in the summer of 2008; a BVF program officer was asked to be a reader for the selection of the grantee. The grant was awarded to the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) and its collaborative partners, creating the Prenatal to Three Pilot Project (Project). The collaborative partners include Good Samaritan Family Resource Center (Good Samaritan) and General Hospital’s Infant-Parent Program, Family Health Center, and Nurse Midwives, bringing their own unique strengths to the Project.

The Project provides a comprehensive and integrated continuum of care and creates a supportive community for families at-risk of the depression, stress, and isolation that the birth of babies can trigger. The Project builds upon Centering Pregnancy, a program model that provides group prenatal care for women whose projected delivery dates are similar. Mid-wives provide the women with necessary preventive medical services and stay with them through the birth of their babies. Afterwards mothers are referred to services that will strengthen parenting skills and improve family functioning. Services include the Partners in Parenting Education (PIPE) curriculum which is facilitated by the Infant-Parent Program. PIPE encourages parents to interact with their babies through play, which is observed by mental health professionals who then can guide the parents to techniques that promote strong bonding and optimal development of the babies.

Good Samaritan and HPP provide extensive case management services, referrals, follow-up services, and home visits that address the families’ needs beyond prenatal and postpartum care. Of particular importance is identifying signs of depression, both during and after pregnancy, so that the women can be referred immediately for appropriate therapy. The Family Health Center offers Centering Parenting, based on the Centering Pregnancy model. Centering Parenting encourages families that met during Centering Pregnancy to continue as a group for their children’s pediatric care. They learn about their child’s health, growth, and development in a group setting and continue their friendships and feelings of empowerment through expanding their knowledge about their children. Combined, the Project’s services are holistic and systemic, with the ultimate goal of children being physically, socially, and emotionally healthy.

BVF currently also funds HPP, Good Samaritan, and the Infant Parent Program. We chose to highlight this project because it exemplifies the type of collaborative effort that BVF believes can have a great positive impact on the healthy development of children by supporting many parents in one of the foundation’s target counties.

Bella Vista Foundation: Early Childhood Development Strategy and Guidelines