New Alternatives for Children

Grant Date: 11.09.2011
Amount: $50,000

Caring for a child with special medical or mental health needs places a great deal of responsibility and strain on parents.  For low-income parents who struggle to meet their children’s basic needs, caring for a child with special needs can be overwhelming and lead to preventable emergency room visits, hospitalizations, child neglect, and sometimes removal of a child from the home and placement in the foster care system.  New Alternatives for Children (NAC) is a respected health and child welfare agency that provides comprehensive services for children with severe disabilities and chronic illnesses and their families.  Despite the pressing need for services provided by NAC, many parents have difficulty keeping their children’s medical and mental health appointments..  With this grant, NAC will test and evaluate three strategies to better engage parents and improve their children’s use of services: use of a parent advocate to provide support and guidance, provision of home-based visits and extended clinic hours, and enhanced transportation assistance to appointments. NAC will integrate the successful strategies into its normal operations, and share findings with other agencies that provide health care to vulnerable populations.