Child Health Programs

A PfP High Priority

Recent studies confirm that children in Essex County have numerous health issues-such as asthma, elevated lead levels and developmental delays. With as many as 75% of all children under five in some type of out-of-home child care, Programs for Parents has unique access to many children at risk. Alert to our ongoing goal to foster child health, our Child Health Initiatives Department is staffed by nurses with pediatric experience. CHI is creating and implementing much-needed programs for families and children in the community through its contract with the New Jersey Department of Human Services as well as private funders.

Ongoing Health-Related Programs

The Child Health Warmline

The Warmline is a free, statewide 24/7 automated phone service designed to provide Family Child Care Providers and Child Care Centers staff with practical, accurate information on relevant health and behavior issues. During business hours, a Warmline nurse can be reached by hitting the star key. In Essex County, the Warmline is now available to parents. As many as 1,000 callers contact our nurses each year, while over 3,000 calls are made to the automated system by dialing 1-800-713-9006.

The Child Care Health Consultant Program

PfP's Child Care Health Consultants, all registered nures with pediatric experience, provide health-related services to child care providers. The nurses coordinate the Quality Infant/Toddler Initiative for Essex, whose long range goal is to form a county-wide network of professionals all committed to giving children in any child care setting a truly healthy start in life. Their successful efforts toward increasing the immunization rates in urban Essex County were recognized by the Gateway Maternal Health Consortium and the Newark Immunization Initiative.

New Health-Related Programs

Identifying Developmental Delays: A Video Training Program

This innovative program shows child care providers how to identify the "red flags" for developmental delays in infants through preschoolers. Two videos demonstrate developmental delays. These were filmed in clinical settings and feature real-life presentations. A third video focuses on sharing observations with parents. The complete kit also includes a Developmental Assessment Checklist, and a letter to the child's health care professional from our collaborator, the American Academy of Pediatrics, New Jersey Chapter.
The Early Intervention Program was developed with funding from The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Asthma-Friendly Family Child Care Project

This program was designed to improve the lives of children with asthma in Essex County, by teaching Registered Family Child Care Providers and parents how to recognize environmental triggers-and decrease them-in both settings. PfP developed a user-friendly, educational brochure, which includes a checklist to act as a handy reminder of the triggers for all those who care for young children with asthma. The program was developed with E.P.A. funding.

Lead Poisoning Prevention

Twenty-five percent of children tested in the greater Newark area have elevated lead levels, the highest in New Jersey. These lead levels cause a variety of illnesses, including irreversible brain damage. Our Child Health Initiatives nurses have created a program to test the belief that there is a causal relationship between good nutrition and a measurable decrease in susceptibility to lead poisoning. Once our nurses have studied the effect of a diet rich in calcium and iron on a child's resistance to lead toxicity, courses in sound nutrition will be offered to Registered Family Child Care Providers, Child Care Center staff, and parents of children under the age of five. Finally, participants in the program will receive an educational video to reinforce all they've learned.