LOVELAND MAGAZINE

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Tag: Infants

Bipartisan sponsors, advocates: Support Ohio bill improving pregnancy, housing, infant services

BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

The state’s operating budget is showing progress in the areas of infant supports, including a housing pilot program to benefit pregnant people and even doula services, but a bipartisan duo in the Ohio House wants to do better.

State Reps. Andrea White, R-Kettering, and Latyna Humphrey, D-Columbus, joined with advocacy groups on Tuesday to talk about House Bill 7, with supporters heading straight to a proponent hearing immediately following the press conference on the bill.

White and Humphrey introduced the bill to the House Families and Aging Committee on April 25, but as the budget process continues with various appropriations showing up and being revised from the governor’s initial executive proposal, White said it’s important to keep up with funding, especially when it comes to Ohio’s infants and mothers.

“Ohio’s doing very well, but we’re not going to accept no for an answer,” White said.

HB 7 has provisions to support doula services, pregnancy and postpartum individuals, children and families in poverty, early intervention, child care, a cost savings study for the Medicaid program and the Head Start Program.

“The initiatives in this bill will support and empower families … and establish systemic changes that will remove barriers to services and reduce administrative burden to both programs and the state,” said Julie Stone, executive director of the Ohio Head Start Association.

The legislators and groups supporting the legislation pointed to widely reported statistics showing Ohio as one of the lowest-succeeding in the country when it comes to infant mortality, with 1 out of 150 babies unable to live to see their first birthday, and the infant mortality rate at 14.1 per 1,000 births for Black babies in Ohio, and 5.5 per 1,000 for white babies.

“In this case, if we do not invest now, there will not be an opportunity, for many, for us to pay later because we are losing too many lives,” White said.

Improving supports for the doula program in Ohio has been an ongoing struggle, with various bills attempting to bring funding to the effort, including one currently sitting in the Ohio Senate.

In HB 7, like similar legislation attempted in the past, the Ohio Board of Nursing would be required to establish a registry of certified doulas, a Doula Advisory Board would be established within the board of nursing, and the Department of Medicaid would house a program to cover doula services through a Medicaid provider agreement.

Doula programs have frequently asked for Medicaid reimbursement to be a part of the resources they can access, since many programs are using their own funds or that of donors to provide pregnancy-related services and education.

“The doula programs are clearly one of the more outstanding programs we have seen in this nation,” said Angela Dawson, executive director for the Ohio Commission on Minority Health.

The doula programs already work to improve pregnancy outcomes throughout the state with 12 “infant mortality hubs” funded throughout the state as well, according to Dawson. But full investment into doula services could actually end up saving the state money through avoidance of complications in pregnancy, and raising the state’s ranking when it comes to infant mortality.

“The reality is that Ohio has never achieved the infant mortality goal for African American babies, we have an opportunity before us … let our vote prepare the state for the children,” Dawson said.

The current draft of the budget, which is still up for approval in the Ohio Senate, includes $16 million in funding for the Healthy Beginnings at Home program, a research study that tests the impacts of rental assistance and housing services on infant mortality.

Under HB 7, the program would receive $15 million more in fiscal year 2024 “to support stable housing initiatives for pregnant mothers and to improve maternal and infant health outcomes,” according to an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission, and $1 million in both 2024 and 2025 for the Move to Prosper program, “which makes affordable rental housing available in neighborhoods that offer access to opportunities.”

Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said the funding would allow them to expand the study to more areas in the state, and “make it a statistically significant study that can be replicated” nationally.

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Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.

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May 3, 2023
Awaiting budget proposal, child advocates hope for more

Getty Images

BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

As policymakers await the newest budget priorities to be laid out by Gov. Mike DeWine, advocates for the state’s children are hoping comprehensive child well-being will be at the top of the list.

The Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition released their policy agenda for the 2024-2025 state budget, which they hope will include whole-child services to address housing, health, child care, economic stability, and adoption of the Fair School Funding Plan, which was only approved for two years of the six-year phase-in so far.

“Children do not come in pieces, and neither should the policies and investments that crucially provide and pave the way for them to grow and flourish into successful adulthood,” said Katherine Ungar, senior policy associate with the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio.

Recommendations by the OCBC also targeted structural racism, the effects of which “negatively impact child outcomes,” according to the announcement of budget priorities.

“The budget is a moral document that reflects our state’s priorities,” OCBC co-leader and Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio policy associate Matthew Tippit said in a statement.

The policy report also laid out challenges to combatting the teacher shortage the state has suffered from for several years, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics stating 21,000 fewer teachers were employed in K-12 public school in the state from September 2021 to September 2019.

The state has faced recruitment and retention issues, which the coalition attributes to “mounting pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, under-resourced schools, politicization of education and lack of respect for educators and the education profession.”

“While a mass exodus of experienced educators from the teaching profession has not yet materialized, it is cause for significant concern when so many are expressing deep frustrations over what they believe is a lack of support and respect for the work they do with students,” the report stated.

Groundwork Ohio

The policy recommendations also come on the heels of a recent early childhood dashboard released by the advocacy group Groundwork Ohio. The dashboard has been in the works since 2021 to “help inform policy makers about the realities facing Ohio families with young children.”

Groundwork Ohio president and CEO Shannon Jones said the dashboard “tells us where to focus on making positive change for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.”

The report found that one in five Ohio infants don’t have access to child care or early learning and six in 10 children aren’t ready to attend school based on kindergarten readiness, fourth-grade reading proficiency and eighth-grade math proficiency.

Racial issues appeared as part of Groundwork Ohio’s analysis, with the group finding that infant mortality rates are still above the U.S. average in Ohio “with a large and appalling racial disparity.”

“While there are many ways we can begin to improve outcomes for young children, focusing state efforts on its very youngest citizens is an urgent moral imperative as well as a wise state investment,” according to the report.

The organization was encouraged by state performance in areas like eighth grade math proficiency and improved homeless students and housing cost burdens.

Early investments are needed to benefit Ohio children throughout their lives, the dashboard concluded as state performance compared to the rest of the country was worse in categories such as early intervention service access and young child poverty.

Large disparities were found particularly in Black, Hispanic and Native American/American Indian children living below the poverty level.

The state has also worsened in terms of kindergarten literacy, chronic absenteeism and special needs preschools, according to the dashboard.

Jan 28, 2023
Ohio Department of Health announces statewide breastfeeding hotline

1-888-588-3423

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has announced a 24/7 Statewide Breastfeeding Hotline available to mothers, fathers, and caregivers across Ohio.

According to the announcement, “Breastfeeding has many known health benefits for mother and baby and is recognized as the optimal source of nutrition for infants. Breastfeeding is widely accepted as an effective strategy to promote positive health outcomes for both mothers and their babies. A woman’s early experience with breastfeeding can affect whether and how long she continues to breastfeed. Lack of support from professionals is an identified barrier to breastfeeding.”

The Appalachian Breastfeeding Network (ABN) operates the toll-free 24/7 hotline with live, trained lactation professionals. Services are available free of charge to all callers, including mothers, their families and partners, expectant parents, and health care providers.

The hotline is available at 1-888-588-3423. For more information on the hotline or Appalachian Breastfeeding Network, please visit https://www.appalachianbreastfeedingnetwork.org/ .

Apr 8, 2020
Pediatric practices to start new interventions to prevent repeat child abuse

AG DeWine, OCHA, Ohio AAP announce third phase of Ohio children’s hospitals’ collaboration

Columbus, Ohio —Today Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA) announced a new collaboration to further spread interventions and findings to reduce the occurrence of child abuse in infants six months and younger by enlisting pediatric practices.

Eight large pediatric practices across Ohio, representing more than 30,000 patients and families and recruited through a partnership with the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, will be joining children’s and community hospitals in implementing proven interventions to identify potential signs of abuse and prevent further abuse in Ohio’s youngest and most vulnerable children.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine funded the Timely Recognition of Abusive Injuries (TRAIN) Collaborative with a $1 million grant from settlement funds to OCHA in 2015. The purpose of TRAIN is to prevent repeat child abuse in the most vulnerable population, infants six months and younger.

The TRAIN Collaborative analyzed what the medical community refers to as “sentinel injuries.” Sentinel injuries are minor injuries known to the medical provider that should prompt concern that the child is being abused. Unfortunately, sentinel injuries are often missed by medical providers placing the infant at risk for further abuse. The TRAIN Collaborative identified the specific injuries that should be suspect and developed a specific process – or “bundle of care” that reduces repeat instances of child abuse. If a medical provider discovers a sentinel injury, they use the prescribed “bundle,” to assist in the identification of abuse and to ensure the infant receives appropriate follow-up care. The “bundle” includes a skeletal survey of the infant, psychosocial assessment of the caregivers and pediatric consultation.

In 2016, children’s hospitals in Ohio determined that one in 10 Ohio children seen for child abuse has been seen previously with a sentinel injury.

In 2016, children’s hospitals in Ohio determined that one in 10 Ohio children seen for child abuse has been seen previously with a sentinel injury and less than one in three receives the necessary physical examination and follow-up. They worked together to create and test the “bundle” within their own hospitals, and then spread the process to 19 community hospitals across the state. This third phase will teach eight pediatric practices about the “bundle” and help them implement it within their practice.

Sentinel injuries are often missed by medical providers placing the infant at risk for further abuse.

“We have some of the best minds in pediatric healthcare in the country right here in Ohio. I am proud that we could bring these minds together to identify a proven process to help children who are too young to understand their injuries or even to speak for themselves,” said DeWine. “Spreading this important process to more pediatricians throughout Ohio will mean more children are spared from further abuse – and that has been my goal with this program from day one.”

The learning here in Ohio has been spread beyond the state’s borders, as leaders from TRAIN have been asked to present their findings at national conferences, including the Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem conference.

“Attorney General DeWine has always been a strong advocate for Ohio’s children, and this initiative would not have been possible without his commitment and support. We are grateful to be able to take our learning into a third phase to spread this valuable process even further in our state and beyond,” said Nick Lashutka, President and CEO of OCHA.

More information about TRAIN is available at www.ohiochildrenshospitals.org.

Jun 4, 2018
Do you know what the WIC program is and its importance to babies?
Women Infants and Children
WIC is a nutrition education and supplemental food program for Women, Infants, and Children. The program’s mission is to improve the nutritional status of mothers, infants, and children during critical stages of growth and development. To participate in WIC individuals must meet income guidelines. Many working families qualify to receive WIC benefits. WIC is not a welfare program. Appointments are coordinated to meet the needs of all family members. Participants visit the WIC office every 3 months to pick up coupons for free foods from local grocery stores. For more information on the WIC program see the National WIC Program, the Ohio WIC Program or the Directory of Ohio WIC Clinics.

Fran Hendrick, PCC – coach, counselor, teacher

The self that your daughter sees reflected in your eyes, your words, and your actions is the person she will believe herself to be. That’s an awesome – even frightening – amount of power. (Learn more: http://www.franhendrick.com)
Oct 18, 2017