History and Model:

The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) Program is an evidence-based model program that was developed by Dr. David Olds in Elmira, New York in 1977 to help young women take better care of themselves and their babies. NFP uses specially trained public health nurses (PHNs) who begin follow-up of high-risk, low income pregnant youth/women who are pregnant for the first time and who are living in poverty. All services are free, voluntary and families are followed and supported using an intensive home visiting schedule until the first-born child reaches the age of 2 years old.

The L.A. Department of Public Health piloted this nurse home visiting program in September 1997 with four Public Health Nurses (PHNs) in collaboration with California Hospital Medical Center. In 2000, the Department expanded NFP services countywide with funding from the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS). The NFP program is funded in multiple ways, including by MCH block grant, Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) through the L.A. Department of Mental Health, and the California Home Visiting Program (federal). When appropriate, NFP also pulls down matching funding from the federal Targeted Case Management (TCM) program when the funding does not originally come from the federal government.

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Health Problems:

• High risk pregnancy (e.g., teen pregnancy, living in poverty, first-time pregnant)
• Barriers to receiving adequate prenatal care
• Barriers including inappropriate social functioning and parental behaviors

 

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Goals:

• Improve Pregnancy Outcomes
• Improve Child Health and Development
• Improve Mother’s Life Course

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Objectives:

• Prevent child abuse and neglect.
• Reduce premature births and low birth weight births
• Reduce substance abuse, alcohol use and cigarettes smoking during pregnancy
• Improve breast-feeding rates
• Reduce the number of children's health care-encounters for injuries and ingestion of poisons from birth through child's second birthday
• Increase in the number of labor force participation by the mothers by the first child's fourth birthday
• Improve graduation rates and/or increase employment of the mothers served
• Reduce subsequent pregnancies among low-income, unmarried women by first child's fourth birthday

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Eligibility/Target Population:

Anyone living in Los Angeles County who is pregnant and/or parenting can qualify for this free and voluntary program.

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Los Angeles County Home Visitation Program Confidential Referral Form(revised 6/24)

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