The Family Health Bureau works to improve the health and well-being of women, infants, children, adolescents, and families in the District of Columbia by:

• Expanding access to high-quality prenatal, preventive, and early childhood care.
• Supporting parents and caregivers in infant care, breastfeeding, and child development.
• Screening infants and young children for health and developmental concerns.
• Providing home-based and community support services for families.
• Promoting protective factors that strengthen child and adolescent well-being.

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 and 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.
• Preterm Birth Reduction Initiative funds District federally qualified health centers to implement best practices in screening, referral, medication therapy, management of risk factors, and coordination of support for District women and residents in wards 5,7, & 8.  
• 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.
• State Maternal Health Innovation (SMHI) program is a federally-funded initiative to implement innovative community-based models of care in the District in an effort to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.  
• Maternal Health Taskforce (MHTF) aims to improve maternal health outcomes through collaborative stakeholder engagement, data-driven strategies and ensuring equitable access and support for District families. 
• Well Woman Campaign is a mass communications effort to increase the number of District women seeking and receiving preventative services, including well-woman visits, cervical cancer screening, and general mental health and overall well-being.  

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: 1-800-666-2229, [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.

Adolescent Health Program

• 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.