The Scale of the Problem
Each year, 380,000 children are born to first-time mothers living below the federal poverty line. Along with their children, these mothers face higher risks of poverty, poor health, and developmental delays.
A Promising Solution
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a national home visitation program backed by four decades of scientific research that has achieved remarkable results in helping first-time, low-income mothers overcome obstacles and create better lives for themselves and their children.
Current Track
Many of the first-time, low-income mothers served by Nurse-Family Partnership are young, single, socially isolated, and have not completed a high school education. A growing body of evidence links toxic stress due to poverty (especially during the child’s first 1,000 days) with adverse impacts on a child’s development that persist into adulthood. Without support, these mothers and their children face daunting obstacles that perpetuate a cycle of poverty.
Children are more likely to be born premature – with poor physical, psychological, and cognitive health outcomes
Children are 22 times more likely to suffer abuse and neglect
As adults, children born into these homes are more likely to earn lower wages and receive public assistance later in life
New Possibilities
Health and development interventions delivered during the first two years of life have a dramatic, demonstrable impact on an individual’s health and well-being over the course of their lifetime. Nurse-Family Partnership capitalizes on this critical window of opportunity and its program has demonstrated success improving pregnancy outcomes, child health and development, and families’ economic self-sufficiency.
45% reduction in infant deaths
48% reduction in child abuse and neglect
82% increase in maternal employment
Blue Meridian’s Investment
Our investment supports the first four-year phase of the Nurse-Family Partnership’s eight-year Scaling Plan, which seeks to make its home visitation model more widely available so that 100,000 families annually - more than a quarter of all eligible mothers - can benefit from the program. NFP plans to expand in target states of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas; improve the model’s impact and effectiveness; and increase funding for implementation. Key markers of success include the following:
$56.5 million invested over 4 years
Expand in target states to reach more than 61,000 families annually
Implement model innovations to increase efficiencies, lower costs and increase the scalability of its proven model
Why We Are Excited About Nurse-Family Partnership
Every organization in our investment portfolio is ready to embark on significant scaling and displays a multitude of strengths. Here are some highlights of the tremendous potential we saw in Nurse-Family Partnership’s scaling strategy that motivated us to invest:
Strong Evidence of Results
NFP’s extraordinary evidence base, return on investment, and proven ability to change lives positions it to make a powerful impact toward breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Started as a research project by Dr. David Olds, NFP now has four decades of rigorous research demonstrating that the program improves pregnancy outcomes, children’s health and development, and families’ economic independence, while providing an estimated net benefit to society of more than $60,000 for each high-risk family served.
Over the next seven years NFP will make its home visitation model widely available so that over a quarter of all eligible mothers – 100,000 – have the opportunity to participate and benefit from the program each year.
Tremendous Track Record of Growth
Founded in Colorado in 1976, and expanded for the first time in 1996, NFP has since served more than 260,000 families and now operates in 42 states and tribal communities. This extraordinary growth demonstrates that NFP’s model can be effectively replicated with fidelity in different types of communities and with a wide variety of local partners.
Commitment to Continuous Improvement
For forty years, NFP has achieved remarkable results with many positive impacts on low-income, first time mothers and their children. Instead of remaining satisfied with the status quo, NFP has pushed itself to continuously improve upon its model and continues to innovate and test program enhancements, including leveraging technology, in order to reduce costs and increase its impact.
About Nurse-Family Partnership
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a national home visitation program that sends specially trained nurses to visit low-income, expectant mothers regularly during their first pregnancy and throughout the first two years of their children’s lives. NFP delivers a range of vital services and support to families, and has achieved remarkable results helping first-time low-income mothers create better lives for themselves and their children.
Better Worlds Start with Great Mothers.
Participants and staff share the positive effects of Nurse-Family Partnership.
Frank Daidone
President and CEO
Frank Daidone is the President and CEO of NFP. Previously, he was VP for Operations of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, and Director of Information Technology for Chipotle Mexican Grill. As Chief Information Officer of Denver, he was the visionary behind the city’s online app and partnered with the schools to create a mentorship program for high-risk teenagers. He earned his BA at University of Central Florida.