FRISCO — First-time, low-income mothers can face a lot of hardships — poor medical care, financial instability and limited education. Invest in Kids, a Denver nonprofit, is working in Summit County to better the lives of young moms by improving their pre- and post-natal health care, providing education about parenting, and even helping single mothers become self-sufficient. The organization is more than a decade old, and it's a nonprofit that says it aims to improve the health and well-being of children and families in Colorado.

Local child care providers, nurses and public officials gathered Monday morning at the Summit County Community and Senior Center to learn about community-wide Invest in Kids initiatives and its results for the 2008-09 school year.

According to Early Childhood Options' Head Start director Sheila Groneman, Summit County government, the Summit School District and Early Childhood Options are committed to working together to support early childhood programs like those put on by Invest in Kids.

“The commitment happens from the top down to improve children's and family growth,” Groneman said.

Summit County participates in two Invest in Kids programs — the Nurse-Family Partnership (for first-time, low-income mothers) and The Incredible Years program (for families and children in preschool).

“It's not just bringing a program (to a community) and walking away,” said Nurse-Family Partnership program consultant Courtney Thomas. “It's long-term programs.”

Nurse-Family Partnership

The Nurse-Family Partnership focuses on improving pregnancy outcomes for first-time, low-income moms, Thomas said. It also works to achieve positive child development, and self-sufficiency for the mother. Participation outcomes include a big increase in breast-feeding, a reduction in maternal smoking, and higher rates of baby immunization.

“It says a lot, not only for the nurses, but for the system of care,” Thomas said.

Summit County belongs to the Intermountain program, including Park, Lake, Chaffee and Clear Creek counties. There are currently 129 women enrolled in the Intermountain program, and 600 women have been served since its inception in 2000. Once a mother is accepted to the Nurse-Family Partnership, nurses work with her and her child until the baby turns 2.

The average client is 19 years old, Thomas said. And the program tries to start serving a new mother as early in her pregnancy as possible — 86 percent of women are enrolled within the first 28 weeks of their pregnancy. Eighty-two percent of its participants are unmarried.

Two clients involved in the Intermountain Nurse-Family Partnership attended Monday's presentation — both young women said they've learned a lot from the new mother program and they've created better situations for themselves.

Anna, a 16-year-old student who became pregnant at age 13, said her nurse helped her understand pregnancy, her baby and how to raise him.

“She made a big change in my life,” Anna said. “I don't think I could have done it without her.”

The Nurse-Family Partnership is also in the process of revising its curriculum for expecting fathers.

“We have dads in the nurse program too,” Intermountain program supervisor Amy Wineland said. “There's a huge effort to get fathers involved.”

Nurse-Family Partnership is currently seeking more first-time, low-income moms to participate in the Intermountain program.

The Incredible Years

The Incredible Years is a continuum of services for mothers from the Nurse-Family Partnership, as well as other families from the community. It's open to preschool-ages kids and their families, and it's a social and mental health program focused on creating social competence and school readiness. It also seeks to create reductions in “challenging” behavior.

Incredible Years director Kristy Johnson said 300 classrooms around Colorado use the program, and Summit County started offering it in 2004. Eighty-three children were enrolled in The Incredible Years during the 2008-09 school year, and 21 parents were involved in groups (put on in both English and Spanish). Parents learn about a plethora of subjects, including appropriate discipline and positive parenting.

Johnson also said she saw big changes in social competence from Summit County kids involved — “We should feel really proud of Summit County outcomes,” she said.

A new program — the Good Behavior Game — is being piloted in Colorado by Invest in Kids. It focuses on kindergarten-aged children. Depending on its success, it may come to Summit County too.

“I can't say enough about this program,” said Summit County public health director Deb Crook of Invest in Kids. “There should be more of it.”

For more information about Invest in Kids programs, visit www.iik.org.