The Family Health Bureau:

• Works with health care providers to improve the accessibility and quality of prenatal and preventive care services.
• Provides support to expecting and parenting families who are at high risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
• Provides support to parents of infants in breastfeeding and other facets of infant care.
• Screens infants for treatable congenital health conditions and refers those screening positive for timely treatment.
• Screens young children to assess development and refer those with delayed development to educational services.
• Provides home-based support for parents in caring for young children and refers those needing additional assistance to appropriate services.
• Provides school-based health services to students in District of Columbia public and public charter schools.
• Works with stakeholders on protective factors that improve the well-being of children and adolescents.

Perinatal and Infant Health Division

• Newborn Screening Program ensures early identification and connection to timely and appropriate follow-up services for health conditions that can adversely impact an infant’s health and development through newborn metabolic, hearing and critical congenital heart disease screenings.
• Safe Sleep Program provides DC residents infant safe sleep education and distribution of portable cribs with additional resources.
• Healthy Start provides District parents, caregivers and infants (up to 18 months of age) of Wards 5, 7 and 8 services, referrals, and support by addressing their health and social service needs.
• Perinatal Quality Collaborative is a network of clinical teams, public health experts and other community stakeholders who participate in data-driven and clinical quality improvement initiatives to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
• Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program is a Federal-State partnership that supports the District of Columbia’s strategic efforts in improving the health and well-being of women, mothers, infants, children (including children with special health care needs) and adolescents.

Early Childhood Health Division

• Help Me Grow DC is a program that assists parents and caregivers with the healthy development of their children ages 0–5 and supports healthy births for pregnant women in the District of Columbia by identifying their needs and referring them to appropriate services. Contact: 1-800-MOM-BABY, [email protected].
• DC Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) is a federal home visiting program that supports expectant parents and parents with young children who live in communities that face greater risks and barriers to achieving positive maternal and child health outcomes.
• Local Home Visiting programs serve expectant parents and parents of young children ages 0–5 to prevent problems and intervene early on problems with children’s health and development. Supports range from education, developmental and behavioral screenings and linkages to appropriate resources.
• Place-Based Initiatives are two-generational approach to improve the behavioral health, physical health and educational outcomes of families with young children within Wards 5, 7 and 8.
• Healthy Steps is an evidence-based, interdisciplinary pediatric primary care program that aims to provide infants and toddlers with social-emotional and developmental support by strengthening family engagement with the medical home. The goal is to improve medical, behavioral and developmental outcomes for young children in Wards 5, 7 and 8.

Child, Adolescent, and School Health Division

• School Health Services Program aims to create greater alignment, integration and collaboration between education and health by supporting school nurses and allied health professionals in assessing the health needs of students, providing clinical and preventive services and coordinating care.
• School-Based Health Centers provide comprehensive primary care services in seven District of Columbia high schools year-round. Each school-based health center offers medical, oral, social and mental health services, as well as education to enrolled students and to children of enrolled students.
• DC Rape Prevention and Education works collaboratively with key stakeholders to address attitudes and beliefs aimed to prevent sexual violence affecting children and adolescents.
• Adolescent Health Program provides culturally-appropriate evidence-based and innovative programming focused on youth development, mental health (including grief and trauma-informed care) and pregnancy prevention among adolescents.
• The Youth Advisory Council promotes healthy development and builds leadership skills among youth ages 14–21 who are enrolled in District of Columbia public and public charter schools.