Community Health Navigators

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Family Wellness Community Health Navigator Program

Helping our babies reach their first birthday

Our Community Health Navigators work with women who are pregnant or have a baby under the age of one. We also aim to reach and engage those individuals who are statistically the most at-risk for low birth weight and infant mortality.

Did you know?

  • In Ohio, African American infants are more than 2.5 times more likely to die in their first year of life compared to white infants.
  • Prematurity is the leading cause of low birth weight and infant mortality.
  • Mothers who are not able to receive proper nutrition, support, and prenatal care are more susceptible to pregnancy complications and preterm birth.

What do the Community Health Navigators do?

  • Increase education and awareness of low birth weight and infant mortality and their impact in the African American community.
  • Work to establish and build trusting relationships with individuals and families through general support and encouragement.
  • Work to reduce stressors related to racial disparities in the African American community.
  • Provide prenatal, parenting, and health information and education.
  • Connect individuals and families with quality community resources, services, programs, and baby items such as diapers and car seats.
  • Network in the community to build partnering relationships.


The Family Wellness Community Health Navigator Program is made possible through a partnership with:



Why is low birth weight a concern? It increases the risk of health complications. The baby’s tiny body is not as strong, and he or she may have a harder time eating, gaining weight, and fighting infection.


INFANT MORTALITY is defined as the death of a live-born baby before his or her first birthday.




Quick facts about infant mortality:

  • Low birth weight babies (less than 5.5 pounds) are at higher risk.
  • Less stress during pregnancy reduces the chances of low birth weight and infant mortality.
  • Early prenatal care helps prevent low birth weight and infant mortality.
  • Breastfeeding in the first six months to one year gives babies an extra healthy start.
  • The ABCs of safe sleep help keep babies safe in their first year…
    • A – Place babies Alone
    • B – on their Backs
    • C – in their Cribs.

Eligibility


This program serves residents of Montgomery County.

Contact


For more information, call (937) 299-LINK.

Location


Our Community Health Navigators are primarily based at our Center for Families in Dayton, 1046 Brown Street.

Kinship & Adoption Navigators

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OhioKAN

Kinship & Adoption Navigator Program

Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley is thrilled to partner with OhioKAN, a new statewide flexible and responsive kinship and adoption navigator program designed to assist children, caregivers, and families.

The program is designed to assist those who have adopted children as well as those who are providing kinship care.

The first step to access the program is to call 1-844-OHIO-KAN to connect with a navigator who will talk with you to understand your situation and needs. If you and the navigator decide together that we can help you navigate and access important resources, we’ll walk through the OhioKAN BASICS overview to make sure we completely understand your family situation and can start making a plan together.

We’ll use the OhioKAN Information Hub to review more than 8,000 records to find, analyze, and organize all of the resources available to you based on your exact situation, location, and needs. Based on our conversation and resource review, we’ll create a Personalized Resource Plan. This document becomes the action plan for navigating and accessing all of the local and statewide resources that fit your situation.


With the support of dedicated site navigators here at CSSMV, OhioKAN’s 100% free services will help kinship and adoptive families in Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby Counties navigate and connect with all of the resources available locally and statewide.

For more information and helpful resources, as well as a directory of other regional partners serving other areas of Ohio, you can visit the OhioKAN website at https://ohiokan.jfs.ohio.gov.

To connect with a navigator from ANYWHERE in Ohio, call 1-844-OHIO-KAN.



WHAT IS KINSHIP CARE?

Eligibility


While CSSMV’s Kinship Navigators serve the specific counties listed above, OhioKAN is a 100% free program available to all kinship and adoptive families in Ohio.

Contact


Call 1-844-OHIO-KAN (1-844-644-6526) to talk one-on-one with an OhioKAN Navigator. Phone lines are open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Location


CSSMV’s OhioKAN Navigators are based at our Eckerle Center in Dayton.

Post-Adoption Support Services

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Post-Adoption Support Services

Adoption is a life-long process and each adoption is unique and special. Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley offers post-adoption services and general adoption information, support for adoptees, and specialized support for adoptive families through our Safe Counseling program.

Whether you’re an adoptee looking for information on your birth family, you’re looking for information about how to adopt a child, or your family includes an adopted child, we have expertise to assist you. The CSSMV professional counseling program is available to adult and child adoptees and their families, and also offers special expertise in the area of attachment disorders.

CSSMV maintains records for all finalized adoptions that used our adoption placement services.

If you are an adoptee, a birth parent, or an adoptive family whose legal adoption was finalized through CSSMV, we can help you access information from your records.

For assistance, please call (937) 223-7217.

Eligibility


Our services are available to anyone seeking information or resources about adoption, as well as any birth parent, adoptee, or adoptive family whose adoption was finalized through CSSMV.

Contact


Call (937) 223-7217 ext. 2102.

Location


CSSMV Center for Families
1046 Brown Street
Dayton, Ohio 45409

Parenting Classes & Groups

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Parenting Classes & Groups

We host free classes and meetings that can help you gain the knowledge and tools to become a more confident and nurturing parent. 

Current Offerings:

  • Positive Parenting & Co-Parenting — Whether both parents are living together in the same household or you’re sharing custody and “co-parenting” between two households, it’s important to develop good parenting skills to provide stability for your child. This one-session class can help. Click HERE for a printable flyer with more information.
  • The POEM Support Group is for Dayton-area pregnant and postpartum moms and birthing persons. The group meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month from 6:30 to 8:00pm at our Center for Families, 1046 Brown Street in Dayton. POEM – Perinatal Outreach & Encouragement for Moms – is Mental Health America of Ohio’s perinatal mental health program. (Perinatal = the period of time from the start of a pregnancy up to a year after giving birth.) Support group sessions are moderated by mothers who have gone through the POEM peer support group training program. You don’t need to preregister to attend. Childcare is not available, but babies in arms are welcome. For more information, please call 937.660.9220 or email poemdayton@mhaohio.org.