CASE STUDY | NURSE-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP
HELPING CENTRAL INDIANA’S
MOST VULNERABLE INFANTS
Setting a child up for success begins before birth and continues into
the critical postnatal period. But many of Marion County’s most atrisk mothers and infants do not have access to the support services
that are important to a child’s successful development.
This is where the Nurse-Family
Partnership (NFP) comes in. Developed
after 30 years of research, this national
program reduces rates of low-weight
births, increases the number of full-term
births, increases both breastfeeding
rates and the length of time infants
breastfeed, and reduces child abuse and
neglect. This evidence-based, nurse-led
community health program has only been
in Indiana for three years, but in that time
it has made a difference, making sure
potentially at-risk mothers have access to
the proper pre- and postnatal care.
The program currently serves 600
mothers. In the next three years, NFP
would like to double the number of
mothers it engages and expand beyond
Marion County. NFP is partnering with
SAVI to identify geographic areas of
unmet need. By mapping the NFP client
population and comparing it to the target
population (first time mothers eligible for
Medicaid), SAVI is helping NFP identify
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geographic areas to focus future
recruitment efforts. NFP finds mothers
through community organizations,
doctor referrals, schools and faith-based
communities.
“NFP’s goals and outcomes are
data-driven, so the need for reliable,
timely data is crucial,” says Lisa Crane,
Director of Operations at NFP. In
addition to helping NFP reach eligible
mothers, SAVI is helping NFP to be even
more strategic in achieving its desired
outcomes for families and tailoring its
support to each mother’s specific needs
and location. SAVI provides a wealth of
useful information about the communities
in which enrolled mothers live, including
environmental risks, such as high crime
or lack of affordable housing, as well as
availability of complementary communitybased services, such as housing
assistance.
The program enrolls mothers by their
28th week of pregnancy and engages