Grant Program: Maternal and Child Health

The Strong Fathers Strong Families Project, led by Fathers Making Progress, aimed to address maternal and infant health disparities among Milwaukee’s Black families by focusing on the role of fathers and father figures. Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the United States as historical and systemic racism have perpetuated disparities in income, health and other socioeconomic measures that contribute to urgent health crises and increased violence and civil unrest. Previous work has demonstrated the positive impact of engaging fathers to improve family well-being, however a need for innovative and sustained efforts to address these challenges remained. Fathers Making Progress exceeded their goals in empowering Milwaukee’s Black communities through efforts like the Fatherhood Mobilization Project, which conducted over 350 interviews in neighborhoods like Washington Park, Metcalfe Park and Lindsay Heights to inform innovative programming. They successfully hosted 50 Men’s Wellness Groups and 30 intergenerational sessions at local high schools, enhancing social connections and stress management skills among attendees. Additionally, their healthy relationship workshops evolved into the Love Lab series, which integrated relationship counseling and social activities to provide practical relationship tools.

St. Croix Regional Medical Center is using a Maternal and Child Health Grant for the project Development of an OB Nurse Navigator Program in a Rural Critical Access Hospital (St. Croix and surrounding counties); this project will create a comprehensive program to address patients’ prenatal and postpartum needs and provide social supports and resources for underserved families in this six-county rural area.

The Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center is leading the project Native Parent Connection Program; this project will strengthen collaborations to address the needs of Native parents and families, or expectant parents through home visiting, breastfeeding supports, validated mental health screening tools, and parenting programs.

Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) leads the project Jardin de Espacios (Garden of Spaces): Designing Well-Being During the Perinatal Journey (Madison/Dane County); PHMDC will collaborate with Roots4Change Cooperative to develop culturally appropriate educational and perinatal services for Latino and Indigenous families.

Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin is leading the project Marathon County Start Right; this project will expand a home visiting program with a bilingual Spanish-speaking home visitor to reach and serve more bilingual families, including those residing in rural Marathon County.

Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin is leading the project Milwaukee Right Start, this project will establish home visiting services for pregnant or parenting women of color to address the significant disparities facing Black families in Milwaukee.

Next Door Foundation, in collaboration with Penfield Children’s Center, has received a grant for a project that will provide enhanced support to Black families with children under the age of one in Milwaukee. This project aims to strengthen access to post-partum maternal care and address infant needs through community-based activities, increase knowledge of the social determinants of health, inform of the risk factors associated with premature births and infant mortality, and provide information related to prevention and early intervention strategies in Milwaukee.

Funding for this grant has ended. EXPO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing) has received an award for the FREE campaign that focuses on supporting Black women recently released from incarceration seeking to reunite with their children and also supporting women before a possible pregnancy. The organization and its partners will offer access to low/no cost doula services, breastfeeding support, family support through a two-generation lens to ensure a supported community transition.