Preparing new mothers for the work of a lifetime
Success Story: Jenica
Here I was, a young woman with a child on the way, and I had no clue as to how I would raise him or her. After my daughter arrived, I returned home and thought 'What's next?' When would she crawl, when would she hold her head up, and when would she sleep through the night? I stumbled upon Every Child Succeds (ECS) while going through a folder of information from Good Samaritan Hospital. I decided that any resource I could get my hands on would make our lives better. ECS educated me as to my daughter's physical, social and emotional development, but they also provided us with family, something I don't have here in Cincinnati.
ECS was my rock. They supported me in providing for my child's basic needs as well as providing us tools for a better life. We attended monthly group meetings and outings. This gave me an opportunity to socialize with other young women in situations similar to mine.
This past March, my daughter and I graduated from ECS, and we are enrolled in another program called HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters at the YWCA). To top it all off, I am now a HIPPY Family Educator!
The mission of Every Child Succeeds® (ECS) is to offer Greater Cincinnati and their families support to ensure an optimal start for their children.
A collaborative evidence-based home visitation program, ECS includes 14 provider agencies whose social workers, child development specialists and nurses provide services for first-time, at-risk mothers on a regular basis from the time of pregnancy until the child's third birthday. Eligible moms are young, low-income, single and/or receiving inadequate prenatal care, factors that tend to put their children at higher risk for delayed development, abuse and neglect, and poor academic achievement.
Designed to optimize child development and promote a variety of positive outcomes, ECS provides home visits to families in seven counties in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky using one of two national models: 13 Healthy Families America® sites and one Nurse Family Partnership® site. Every Child Succeeds is committed to using data to measure outcomes and to continually improve.
Every Child Succeeds is guided by scientific research confirming that a stimulating and nurturing environment is essential for optimal brain development, which in turn leads to readiness for school and physical and behavioral health. This program is effective because its highly professional home visitors establish a trusting relationship with mothers at a critical time, providing information and skills that help children reach their potential.
Every Child Succeeds utilizes an integrated evaluation component to guide service delivery, document outcomes and identify features of the program that are most effective. The rapid pace of scientific discovery and progress necessitates changes in best practice, and ECS continues to evolve and grow over time in response to these developments. The commitment to continuous quality improvement involves using data to demonstrate outcomes, identify areas for improvement and develop new services.