全球智库信息集成服务系统

Welcome Baby is a free and voluntary home visiting program established in fourteen communities throughout Los Angeles County. This locally designed home visiting program focuses on education and support for pregnant women and mothers of newborns. The model was piloted in one downtown Los Angeles community starting in 2009—designated Metro LA—offering services to women who give birth at California Hospital Medical Center (CHMC) and live within a five-mile radius of the hospital. This report presents the findings from the 36-Month Child and Family Survey conducted between January 2013 and August 2014, during implementation of the Welcome Baby pilot. It also presents the results of longitudinal analyses utilizing data across multiple survey waves. Analyses of survey data collected at 36 months postpartum indicate that effects related to parenting quality and child development continue to be maintained more than two years after the home visiting services were delivered. In particular, Welcome Baby participants are observed to be significantly more responsive and encouraging in their interactions with their three-year-old children than mothers in the comparison group, and their children have greater social competence and communication skills.