The Force for Good Public Policy Award recognizes policymakers for making a difference for families in poverty
DENVER, CO (December 13, 2019) — Nurse-Family Partnership ® (NFP) – a national program serving first-time moms and their children living in poverty – is pleased to announce that California State Senator Holly J. Mitchell (D-30, Los Angeles) is one of two recipients of the 2019 Force for Good Public Policy Award. The award recognizes elected officials for making a difference for families in poverty.
Senator Mitchell, Chair of the California Senate Budget Committee, provided critical support during the last year of Governor Jerry Brown’s administration to pilot new resources for families experiencing deep poverty. Under her leadership, the State of California for the first time allocated more than $50 million in annual funding to create a new statewide home visiting program for CalWORKs families, via the CalWORKs Home Visiting Initiative. Counties that are using a portion of these funds are offering upwards of 800 first-time expectant mothers living in poverty their own personal nurse from pregnancy through their child’s second birthday through their counties’ Nurse-Family Partnership programs.
During this year’s annual budget process, Senator Mitchell strengthened and expanded on Governor Newsom’s initial call to increase the state’s investment in home visiting programs like Nurse-Family Partnership. The legislature made permanent the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program and increased its annual budget to $89.6 million. The legislature also approved a budget that, for the first time, allocated state general funds to the California Department of Public Health-administered California Home Visiting Program in the amount of $21 million annually. Combined, the two budget appropriations are expected to more than double the number of California families living in poverty who benefit from home visiting programs like Nurse-Family Partnership.
“We thank Senator Mitchell for her leadership and admirable investments that will help to expand Nurse-Family Partnership to even more mothers and their children throughout the state of California,” said Toni Panetta, southwest region government affairs manager for Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office. “Her actions truly encapsulate the spirit of the ‘Force for Good,’ and will have a positive impact by helping to break the cycle of poverty in California communities for many generations to come.”
Nurse-Family Partnership was established in California in 1996, and has since served more than 28,000 vulnerable families. Nurse-Family Partnership is a two-generation intervention proven to lift families out of poverty. Outcomes from rigorously designed, randomized control trials show that families who enrolled in the program achieved higher earnings compared to families that were not enrolled. According to a study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, every $1 invested in Nurse-Family Partnership can yield up to $4.50 in return for the highest-risk families served in California. The program currently operates in 20 counties in the state.
The Force for Good Award is named after founder Dr. David Olds, who described the impact of Nurse-Family Partnership as a “force for good that changes the future for two generations.”