The Vanderburgh County Health Department is proud to announce that it has been awarded the 2024-2025 performance award from the Safety PIN grant. This grant, established in 2018 to support local home visitation, is part of ongoing efforts to enhance the wellbeing of our community.
In 2022, the Indiana Department of Health initiated a grant cycle that allocated $1,400,000 to the Pre to 3 program, which aims to enhance maternal and child outcomes, foster positive parent-child interaction, create a healthy environment for early childhood development, and empower families towards self-sufficiency. This award recognizes the Health Department’s success in these areas and provides additional funding to further its mission of improving health outcomes for vulnerable families and infants who may otherwise face adverse health challenges, including potential loss of life.
We are grateful for the opportunity to review the Pre to 3 program at the Vanderburgh County Commissioners meeting on February 20th at 3pm. The Commissioners play a pivotal role in supporting this vital work, enabling program expansion within Evansville and the unincorporated county. For instance, a key problem the Health Department is working to address is the gap in the 5-year black infant mortality rate in Vanderburgh County. Infant mortality for black children stands at 19.1 per 1,000 live births, compared to the white infant mortality rate of 5.0 per 1,000 live births. With the backing of Safety PIN funding and the community, we will implement programs to enhance access to crucial services and improve the outcome for black infants.
At the core of these initiatives are the dedicated members of the Pre to 3 team. They offer a wide range of services aimed at ensuring healthy pregnancies and fostering thriving families. Through a hands-on, evidence-based curriculum, our staff delivers consistent, long-term support to families through home visits. These visits are designed to assist families in overcoming various challenges related to the social determinants of health and adversity. By meeting families in their own homes and providing non-judgmental, strength-based support, the Pre to 3 program offers a collaborative approach that effectively addresses early learning gaps in the targeted area. This approach empowers new parents to build confidence and acquire the necessary skills to fulfill their crucial role as their child’s first nurturer, teacher, and health advocate.
The Health Department, in cooperation with the Vanderburgh County Commissioners Cheryl Musgrave, Justin Elpers, and Mike Goebel, look forward to continuing this important work and are committed to making a meaningful impact on the health and wellbeing of our commun
