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Family Support Program for African American Families:
Black Infant Health Program
 Black
Infant Health (BIH) is one of The Perinatal Council's most
successful programs, and it serves as a model for similar
services throughout the State of California.
In the 1980s, California's Department of Health Services
discovered that African American babies in the state were
three times more likely to die than White babies. In 1989,
the state of California began funding BIH program in
districts where children were at highest risk.
The Perinatal Council administers this culturally sensitive
outreach program in Contra Costa County. The program
provides case management for African American pregnant women
or mothers, aged 18 and over, who are likely to have
complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
BIH helps African American women find pregnancy care,
healthcare for their children, and other necessary social
services that will reduce the rates of infant death and
illness. The council's Outreach Specialists/Case Managers
are skilled at bringing high-risk women into the program,
coordinating client services, and linking clients to other
community agencies for additional assistance.
Because of the relationship that grows between clients and
Case Managers, BIH participants view the healthcare system
more positively. They understand the importance of their
children's health and are more motivated to seek care and
health education. The result is healthier babies and
children.
The
Goals:
- Reduce infant mortality and morbidity rates
- Assist famililes in receiving perinatal and postpartum
care and pediatric services for their children, as
well as access to mental health, housing, and employment
services
- Provide information about healthy lifestyles, relationships,
and parenting to clients and their partners
To contact the Black Infant Health
program, please call (510) 236-6990.
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Healthy
Tomorrows
A peer-education training program for high-risk pregnant/parenting African American
women aged 19 and older, living in Oakland and Richmond.
Goals:
- Reduce, eliminate, or prevent substance abuse among
program participants and prevent substance abuse by
their children
- Reduce participants' number of sexual partners
and contacts with high-risk partners; increase use
of condoms and knowledge of risk factors for transmission
of HIV/AIDS/STDs
- Disseminate information to other at-risk women
in the community through use of an innovative art-based
curriculum that addresses such issues as ethnic and
gender pride; HIV/AIDS awareness and education; substance
abuse and high-risk behaviors; parenting; self-esteem,
relationships and intimacy; assertiveness and communication
skills; coping and behavior management skills; and
public speaking and outreach skills.
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