State and local officials join Maple Avenue School students to kick off Lead Poisoning Awareness and Prevention Week.

The Newark Family Success paradigm recognizes the critical importance of the very early years in a child’s life and envisions that all young children will enter school safe, healthy and ready to learn.

Our goal is that all children will enter school being safe, healthy and ready to learn.

Based on planning done by the Early Childhood Success Committee of the Council on Family Success and the Newark Department of Child and Family Well-Being, the Administration has launched several broad-scale efforts to improve outcomes for young children.

Immunizations – the Newark Department of Child and Family Well Being leads the effort in educating the public, monitoring and supporting compliance with required immunization of children, and ensuring linkage of  the medical community in the city to the New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS).  Department staff offer immunization clinics, audit child care centers for the timely immunization status of their enrollees, participate in the immunization reminder program, and collaborate to link pediatricians and family practitioners in Newark with the state immunization registry, all with the goal of eliminating immunization disparities between African American and other minority children and those of all children in NJ.

Prevention and remediation of lead poisoning in children – the Newark Partnership for Lead-Safe Children, in conjunction with the Department of Child and Family Well Being, are implementing a strategic plan to guide their outreach, community education, and advocacy work in this area.  Goals include increasing lead screening by 25%, increasing resources for relocation and safe housing, and eliminating lead poisoning in children in Newark.

A comprehensive and coordinated strategy for peri-natal care - The Early Childhood Success Committee, through research and focus groups with parents, has designated the conception through three years of age group-infants, parents, and caregivers- as the priority for attention in the City.  This designation is based on the fragmentation and lack of services to this age group as well as the critical importance of the very early years to successful child development and well-being.  The Department of Child and Family Well-Being, in collaboration with the Nicholson Foundation convened an Essex County-Newark Perinatal Working Group to design a local single peri-natal intake system and access to support services for pregnant women in Essex County and the City of Newark.  This system will be managed by the New Jersey Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse and guided by the work of a Peri-natal Coordinating Council.

Several important initiatives are underway:

• The launching of a comprehensive peri-natal single intake system for all newborns in the City, beginning with coordinating access to home-visiting programs.

• Outreach to pregnant women through the Newark Family Success Center Network to engage and enroll them in peri-natal care. For more information go to: www.newarkfamilysuccess.org

Directory for Youth and Families

A 2010 City Directory for Youth and Families to empower families to connect to the resources they need. The Newark community is rich in resources but many residents have voiced concern about how to find out what is available to them. This directory provides residents with a full range of resource information and highlights many of the community partners that have worked so hard to make Newark a great place for families.

• Download the Directory for Youth and Families

1-800-THE-KIDS

A Newark Family Success Helpline has been established through a partnership between the Newark Family Success Center Network and Parents Anonymous of New Jersey to offer a warm line of support and access to services to Newark residents on a 24 hour 7 days a week basis. If parents and caregivers are stressed out and in need of help, or if they need resources, information or just someone to talk to, they can call 1-800-THE-KIDS and connect with a friendly and well-trained parent support specialist.