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Organization: Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition, Inc. Program: TLC Newborn Funder: IRC Board of County Commissioners — Children 's Services Advisory Committee - 05-06 Grant Application C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (Entire Section C, I — 6, not to exceed two pages) 1 . List Priority Needs area addressed. The elimination of factors upon children 0 to 6 months which impede the child ' s mental, emotional or physical development or well-bein . 2 . Briefly describe program activities including location of services. Visits to Indian River Memorial Hospital are made six out of seven days of each week by the TLC Newborn personnel, who met 98 % of the families of every newborn last year either the day of delivery of the baby or the day after. Follow up phone calls are made with each family of a newborn who is interested in participating in the TLC Newborn program, which is over 96 percent of all newborn families- in Indian River County. Follow up phone calls take place on a weekly basis in the first month. This frequency can be increased if the family chooses or if the TLC Family Associate identifies a need for greater contact. In the second month, calls are generally made to the family every other week. From months three through six, phone contacts are made on a monthly basis. Age appropriate newsletters focusing on each month of the infant ' s life, in terms of growth and development, health and nutrition/feeding issues, immunizations, brain development tips and other parenting ideas are mailed on a monthly basis, depending on the age of the infant. At the TLC Newborn office, the TLC representative mails personalized and specific educational material to each family who has accepted the program. Once a family is assigned to a staff member, that connection is maintained throughout the length of the program, which assists in building trust. Some families call the TLC Newborn office as additional assistance is needed. When referrals to other agencies or organizations are made to the family, the TLC staff member will follow up, regardless of the recommended call schedule. The monthly newsletters also include educational and play ideas, as well as a "Dad ' s Corner", which provides tips on fatherhood issues relating to infant care. In 2005 , the program will serve its 7,000' baby. Referrals to community resources, such as the Healthy Start Care Coordination team, and concerns of individual families are reviewed by the TLC Newbom staff members on an as-needed basis . One of the primary reasons for the TLC program' s success and high participation rate is its universal and non-invasive means of education and support. Families receive TLC services in the comfort of their home that is not intrusive or disruptive. Mothers can also contact their TLC Family Associate at their convenience as questions or needs arise " regarding the care and well-being of their infant. 3 . Briefly describe how your program addresses the stated need/problem. Describe how your program follows a recognized "best practice" (see definition on page 12 of the Instructions) and provide evidence that indicates proposed strategies are effective with target population. As mentioned earlier, the major advantage of the TLC Newborn program is that it is universal in nature, with all families of newborns being eligible to participate. With the ability to reach families of newborns at the hospital and in their home, there are very few barriers to service delivery. The success of the TLC Newborn program is shown through its participation rate of over 96 percent over the last three years. As a comparison, the acceptance rate for the Healthy Start prenatal Screen was only 56% in 2003 and 42% for the Healthy Start Infant/Postnatal Screen. This indicates nearly half of the pregnant women or infants in our county are NOT being screened for risk factors and could potentially be missed in terms of 6