National Healthy Start Association

Membership Information and
Association Newsletter



Membership Information

Membership in the National Healthy Start Association is open to all federally funded Healthy Start projects. Other community-based agencies and individuals are welcome to become a friend of Healthy Start by joining the Association, as well.

Become A Friend of Healthy Start!

Since 1991, the Healthy Start Program has been dedicated to reducing the incidence of infant mortality and low birthweight. We are proud of the unique characteristics of this program which are crucial to success.
Healthy Start is:

  • Community Based: Long term results depend on a "buy-in" of local communities that takes time and trust to build.
  • Targeted to the Toughest Populations: Aggressive outreach has proven to be one of the most important tools to reach young women who are pregnant and/or are already mothers, as well as fathers who live in communities with the toughest poverty, drug use and unemployment
  • Labor intensive and personal: A focus on specific individuals in specific communities has resulted in dramatic changes in the lives of those in the program. It is not unusual for program employees to consist of those who have benefited from the program. The most effective case workers relate to those who face the same challanges they faced.
Thanks to the dedicated work of Healthy Start projects, the rate of infant mortality has declined by average of 34% in 18 of the 20 original projects.

In 2001, the National Healthy Start Association was pleased that Congress overwhelmingly voted to move the program from the status of a demonstration project to that of a permanent program authorized under federal law.

Despite its successful track record, Healthy Start's funding was reduced several years ago, and the National Healthy Start Association is dedicated to reversing this trend. In some project areas, infant mortality has begun to rise again because of insufficient funding.

We ask you to join the National Healthy Start Association and work with us to ensure that this program receives the funding needed to serve all eligible communities. What could be more important than reducing infant mortality? Only one-third of the 300 eligible communities currently receive funding. We need you to become a friend of Healthy Start by sending your contribution to National Healthy Start Association today!
For a downloadable contribution form you can print out and
mail with your payment, click: fundform.pdf

If you have difficulty downloading this form, let us know and we will fax you a copy. Contact us at kduncan@nationalhealthystart.org.
If you need to get the Adobe Reader for viewing the PDF form file, it is available online as a free download, (download any version that is compatible with your computer system), click here: Adobe Reader

Getting Off to a Healthy Start
Getting Off to a Healthy Start, the Association's newsletter, is published for the purpose of increasing the sense of family among Healthy Start projects, to inform Healthy Start staff and others about community-based approaches to maternal and child health, and to highlight research and evaluation findings in the field.

 

For a downloadable PDF version of Getting Off to a Healthy Start, click:
  • Spring 2003 newsletter: HS_Spring03.pdf
            Correction: On page 5 in the "In Honor" article, Brevin Cinque Wilkerson's         mother's name should be Teresa Wilkerson. The National Healthy Start              Association apologizes for the error.

Be patient, as it may take a few minutes to download the file.

If you need to get the Adobe Reader to view the PDF file, it's available as a free download, (download a version compatible with your computer system); to access the Adobe Reader page, click: Adobe Reader

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR THE NEWSLETTER

The National Healthy Start Association encourages members to submit articles that exemplify their experiences with a difficult challenge, a unique program, an unexpected triumph or a personal success story about a Healthy Start client. We publish four newsletters per year. The National Healthy Start Association anticipates selecting one (1) article from those submitted for each issue.

  1. National Healthy Start Association Members are welcome to submit articles to the National Healthy Start Association to be considered for inclusion in the Association's quarterly newsletter, Getting off to a Healthy Start.
  2. Submissions should be made electronically, by attaching the article to an email sent to the attention of Kemia Duncan, at kduncan@nationalhealthystart.org.
  3. Articles should be no more than 500 words in length.
  4. Submissions should be of interest to the larger Healthy Start community and fit within the program areas of the Healthy Start model.
  5. All submissions should be accompanied by a cover message, with complete contact information.
  6. Submission deadlines are February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1.
  7. The National Healthy Start Association reserves the right to edit any submissions for clarity and length.
  8. The National Healthy Start Association also reserves the rights to (a) decline to accept or publish a submission or (b) to publish a submission at a later date.

Sample Newsletter

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Fax the form to: (202) 296-2197
Send the form by postal mail to:
National Healthy Start Association, Inc.
2030 M Street, NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20036-2435

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If you have questions or comments contact:

The National Healthy Start Association, Inc.
2030 M Street, NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (202) 296-2195 | Fax: (202) 296-2197
E-mail: kduncan@nationalhealthystart.org


Thanks for visiting the
National Healthy Start Association online at:
www.healthystartassoc.org