The Ounce of Prevention Fund, a public/private partnership that promotes the well-being of children in Illinois, established a maternal and child health care center at the Robert Taylor Homes, a public housing complex in Chicago.

The health center was part of a larger program called the Center for Successful Child Development (CSCD), which provided home visitors, family support services and early childhood education to young mothers and their children living in isolation and poverty.

Key Results
Project and clinic staff:

• Established an on-site maternal and child health center at one of the housing complex apartment buildings and served 1,054 women and children.
• Provided prenatal services, pediatric care, laboratory services, patient education on health issues, and referrals for high-risk pregnancies and specialty care. Staff also monitored the health and development of children in CSCD's day care program.
• Conducted prenatal groups for expectant parents and a parenting peer support group.

The project:

• Provided health care services to about 3,400 women and children.
• Relocated to new facilities two blocks away and finalized a partnership with the Cook County health system to assume responsibility for the health care center.
• Became self-sufficient through Medicaid reimbursement and other funding.
• Provided expanded mental health services through a full-time social worker, consulting psychologists and childhood development specialists.
• Provided therapeutic early intervention services for children with developmental delays.

Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported this project with two grants totaling $2 million from March 1988 to June 2000.