Community Outreach

Improving the health and welfare of infants, children, mothers and young families living in underserved communities has been a primary focus of the Social Work Division. Fundamental to the programs is the utilization of trained community health workers who are familiar with the cultures, beliefs and values of the families they serve.

Baby Love

The Baby Love Program is a social worker/community health worker, home visitor model that assists pregnant women and adolescents achieve healthy births and improved health outcomes. Services include assistance in keeping prenatal and other health care appointments addressing social determinants of health, helping prepare for the birth of the baby, including breast feeding, prenatal and infant development education, supportive home visits with focus on the Partners for a Healthy Baby curriculum, and linkage to behavioral health and other needed services. Baby Love has demonstrated effectiveness in significantly reducing neonatal intensive care admissions. The program is available to pregnant patients living in Monroe County. The program is supported by NYS DOH and UR Medicine.

For more information about the Baby Love program, please contact Carol Quester, LMSW at (585) 473-1728 or (585) 623-2642.

Building Healthy Children (BHC)

Building Healthy Children provides and evaluates preventive interventions for teen families and their children that are integrated with the Child's Medical Home. Using a combination of three-evidence-based practices, the program supplies young mothers with parenting education, parent-children attachment and maternal depression therapy, and any needed support services such as food, housing and transportation. The program is a partnership with UR Social Work, Mt Hope Family Center, UR Dept. of Pediatrics, RGPA, Jordan HC, Highland Family Medicine, Culver Medical Group, United Way and Monroe County Department of Human Services. Program goals include decreasing the number of families involved with Child Protective Services, promoting positive parent-child relationships and healthy child development outcomes.

For more information about this program, please contact Jessica Luciano-Bath, LMSW at (585) 275-2991 x13 or (585) 615-6605.