The Baltimore Healthy Start (BHS) Promoting Positive Outcomes for Infants and Toddlers Project addresses the problem of disparities in Kindergarten readiness for Baltimore City low-income African-American and Latinx children, specifically children living in the highly disadvantaged BHS Project Area.
The goal of the 2.5 year project is to enhance early parent-child attachment, the foundation for later social and academic skills, by offering Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) groups. The evidence-based program provides education, guidance, and support to help mothers and fathers nurture secure parent-child attachments, while building their children’s emotional resilience, curiosity, and freedom to explore.
Additional strategies include core BHS case management, care coordination, and home-visiting services, which include anticipatory early childhood development guidance at home visits using the Growing Great Kids curriculum. BHS core services mitigate multiple adverse social determinants of health through social support, guidance, advocacy, and an array of service referrals.
Partners include the Judy Center and St. Vincent De Paul Early Head Start, which will refer parents participating in their respective programs to BHS COS-P groups. The grant funds will allow Baltimore Healthy Start to offer Circle of Security Parenting to more BHS Project Area parents, including parents whose primary language is Spanish. The project plan also includes contingencies and parent resources for offering the groups virtually, in accordance with guidance from Circle of Security Parenting International, in light of in-person meeting restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Peter Schafer of CBO Grant Consultants wrote the grant proposal in consultation with BHS Executive Director Lashelle Stewart.