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$60,000, two-year grant enables Family & Children’s Place to help more at-risk babies, parents

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 24, 2018) – The Louisville Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence (JHFE) has awarded a two-year, $60,000 grant to Family & Children’s Place. The grant will be used to add an outreach coordinator to the agency’s HANDS program to expand services to at-risk families and babies.

Family & Children’s Place is the area’s leading child abuse prevention and treatment agency, and HANDS provides voluntary in-home visitation for new and expectant parents that fosters healthy pregnancy and births, stable child growth and development, safe homes, and self-sufficiency.

The Jewish Heritage Fund invests in local healthcare efforts, fosters innovative medical research and supports the Louisville Jewish community.

“The Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence is dedicated to ensuring the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable citizens in our community: children,” said Jeff Polson, JHFE executive director. “Investing in a program like HANDS is a direct reflection of this commitment.”

“We’re so thrilled to receive this grant that will allow us to visit more hospitals, doctors, and other clinicians to expand even more our work with families and babies,” said Pam Darnall, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Place. “The difference we see in the families HANDS works with is truly amazing,” she said.

For example, in a recent survey, at two months, 86 percent of HANDS-served families are on target to hit accepted development measures vs. 79 percent of non-served children. At 18 months, the gap widens, with 89 percent of HANDS children developmentally on target with only 58 percent of other children reaching goals.

HANDS families also demonstrate significant long-term net positive results and lower numbers of referrals for intervention.

Specific benefits of the grant funded outreach coordinator include:

• Increase hospitals and Neonatal Intensive Care Units visited in Jefferson County from one to four.
• Increase referrals – from 240 to 700 – for babies and families through better relationships with NICU doctors, nurses, clinicians, and community social workers.
• 34 percent more successfully completed assessments by a Parent Visitor, which will more quickly enroll babies and families, speeding services by a Family Support Provider (FSP).
• Increase HANDS enrollments for each year by 120 for a total of 240 babies that will receive weekly support for optimal child growth and development

“This generous grant will enable us to expand services in several major Louisville area hospitals as well as the general community, allowing us to serve an even larger population of new parents and families,” said Darnall. “From experience and study we know this means healthier and happier babies, living in and growing up in safe homes.”

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 About Family & Children’s Place
Family & Children’s Place protects Kentuckiana children, families and communities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation and, through evidence-based services, helps them heal. The organization has supported families for 135 years and helps more than 6,000 children and family members annually. For more information about Family & Children’s Place, visit www.famchildplace.org or call 502-893-3900.