Philadelphia, PA (September 8, 2022) – Philadelphia Health Partnership (PHP) announces its support of two new programs focused on the health and well-being of young children and their parents and caregivers.
PHP awarded a three-year $248,281 grant to PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to help fund local implementation of HealthySteps, a program of ZERO TO THREE. PHP’s grant will support a HealthySteps pilot in West Philadelphia at the CHOP Primary Care location in Cobbs Creek, which will join a national network of HealthySteps sites working to transform pediatric care by promoting nurturing parenting and healthy development for babies and toddlers so they are prepared for school and life. The pilot will serve a patient population of almost 3,000 children from birth to age three of which approximately 80 percent are covered by public health insurance and more than 90 percent are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color.
The goal of the HealthySteps pilot is to improve child and family outcomes through early identification of needs, improved service accessibility, and enhanced family engagement and support. Concurrent with pilot implementation, PolicyLab will advocate for policy and systems changes at the local and state levels to advance reimbursement and payment reforms for integrated behavioral health services in pediatric primary care and to establish sustainability pathways for HealthySteps in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
The second new program funded by PHP was made through a two-year $100,000 grant to the Bread & Roses Community Fund to develop and implement the Early Childhood Parent and Caregiver Organizing Fund. Using a participatory grantmaking approach, the new Fund will engage community members to allocate resources in support of early childhood organizing, advocacy, and community action focused on the issues that parents and caregivers themselves identify and prioritize.
Vanguard Strong Start for Kids will also support the Early Childhood Parent and Caregiver Organizing Fund through their collaboration with Start Early on family-centered design.
“Amplifying parent and caregiver voice and leadership to address racial, social, and economic disparities in early childhood programs, policies, and systems is at the heart of the new Fund’s purpose,” said Ann Marie Healy, Executive Director of Philadelphia Health Partnership. “Ensuring the people who are most affected by these disparities have resources to mobilize change is central to PHP’s approach.”
The grants are part of PHP’s strategic initiative on early childhood health and development, which promotes the optimal physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of children from prenatal to age five.
“Our long-term commitment to supporting the positive relationships and early experiences that set young children on the pathway to lifelong health and well-being is one of our top priorities today,” said Loree D. Jones-Brown, Board Chair of Philadelphia Health Partnership.“The Foundation has been focused on improving equity in health in Philadelphia for 25 years now, and we’re proud of our many contributions to the residents of the city.”
In addition to support for PolicyLab at CHOP and Bread & Roses Community Fund, PHP awarded grants totaling $430,450 in the first half of the year to seven Philadelphia nonprofits for a total of $778,731 invested in Philadelphia through June 2022. Those grants include:
- Children First - A one-year general operating grant of $65,000 for advocacy, organizing, and coalition building to increase children’s health access, prevent childhood lead poisoning, and promote quality and equitable early care and education.
- Education Law Center – A one-year program grant of $50,000 for legal services and advocacy to improve children's access to early intervention services and full inclusion in early childhood education.
- Hispanos Unidos para Niños Excepcionales – A one-year general operating grant of $30,000 for bilingual services for children and youth with differentiating abilities and their parents and caregivers to promote self and family advocacy and provide social, emotional, and academic supports.
- Legal Clinic for the Disabled – A two-year program grant of $90,000 for the Medical-Legal Partnership at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children to promote the health, independence, and quality of life of patients and their families with a focus on children from birth to age five.
- ParentChild+ – A one-year program grant of $50,000 for home visiting services for Philadelphia families with children 16 months to four years old to stimulate parent-child interaction and develop children’s language, early literacy, and social-emotional skills.
- Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children - A one-year general operating grant of $75,000 for advocacy, organizing, and coalition building to promote early childhood and perinatal health and development and expand access to health insurance, home visiting, and early intervention services.
- SEAMAAC - A one-year grant of $70,450 for the second year of the Health and Human Services Fellowship at SEAMAAC. This is a joint program with the Independence Foundation to promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive leadership pipeline in the nonprofit and health and human services sectors.