Community Health Navigators

June 2, 2022/in Pregnancy & Parenting Services /by Andrea Skrlac

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

February 24, 2022/in Family Stabilization & Success, Pregnancy & Parenting Services /by Andrea Skrlac

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?

PASSS Applications Are Now Available

The purpose of the Post Adoption Special Services Subsidy (PASSS) is to assist Ohio families after the finalization of their adoption. The subsidy is available to all adoptive families regardless of the type of adoption (international, attorney, public or private agency), with the exception of step-parent adoptions. The child DOES NOT have to meet either the federal or state definition of special needs to receive this subsidy. Each child may be eligible for up to $10,000 per year ($15,000 if residential treatment is recommended by a qualified professional).

PASSS funds may be used for reasonable costs of services to address the child’s physical condition, developmental disability, mental health, or emotional condition that either existed prior to the adoption or developed after the adoption and can be attributed to factors in the child’s preadoption background, medical history, or biological family’s background or medical history.

PASSS eligibility requirements:

Child/young person resides in Ohio with the adoptive family
Child/young person has been adopted by someone other than a step-parent
Child/young person has a physical or developmental disability or mental or emotional condition that either existed before the adoption petition was filed or developed after the adoption petition was filed and can be directly attributed to factors in the child/young person’s pre-adoption background or medical history, or biological family’s background or medical history
The child/young person is under the age of eighteen OR the child/young person is at least eighteen years of age and less than twenty-one years of age and has been diagnosed with a mental or physical disability
Other sources of assistance are inadequate or are unavailable to meet the child/young person’s immediate needs

For more details about PASSS, click HERE.