Special Service for Groups Awarded Grant from the March of Dimes to Improve Mom & Baby Health in CA

LOS ANGELES - Feb. 18, 2015 - PRLog -- Los Angeles-based health and human service nonprofit organization Special Service for Groups [SSG] announced today that it has been awarded a multi-year grant from March of Dimes California Chapter to reduce health disparities for underserved mothers and their babies.  In the first year of funding, SSG division Families & Criminal Justice [FCJ] will provide over $42,000 in prenatal services to pregnant women in Los Angeles County jails.

SSG/FCJ was one of six grantees selected from more than 40 applicants by the March of Dimes State Program Services Committee, which is made up of leading medical and public health professionals representing different regions in California.  The selected projects will increase and enhance prenatal care, provide pre- and interconception preventive services, and/or improve screening and diagnosis of heart birth defects.  Awardees will target diverse, underserved female populations.

“These March of Dimes grants are investments that launch new programs and expand existing high-impact program,” said March of Dimes State Program Services Committee Chair Dr. James Bryne, Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Santa Clara Medical Center and clinical professor at Stanford School of Medicine.  “Many initiatives would not move forward without this funding.  Community grant recipients provide great beta tests and lay the groundwork to scale future efforts to benefit women and families.”

The services funded by the March of Dimes grant will be delivered by SSG/FCJ in the Century Regional Detention Facility of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and will include prenatal health and risk reduction education, stress reduction and support services, individual counseling and home visiting services for postpartum mothers and their infants in the community.

About Special Service for Groups

SSG is a private, nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles dedicated to building and sustaining community-based programs that address the needs of vulnerable communities.  SSG operates 25 distinct services divisions---including FCJ---offering a range of services for vulnerable communities throughout Southern California and San Francisco homeless, housing, behavioral health and workforce development services.  FCJ provides services to incarcerated individuals and their family members with the mission of preventing intergenerational crime and incarceration.  For more information about SSG, visit the website at www.ssg.org.  For more information about FCJ and services for justice-involved families, visit the website at www.familiesandcriminaljustice.org.

About March of Dimes

Each year nearly 4,000,000 babies are born in the United States and March of Dimes touches each one of them through research, education, support and advocacy.  March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.  With chapters nationwide, March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  Premature birth and its complications are now the leading global cause of death for children under 5 years old.  Premature births cost the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine.  For the latest resources and information, visit www.marchofdimes.org, or for resources in Spanish, www.nacersano.org.  Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.  A wealth of educational video resources are available on our YouTube channel.

About March of Dimes California

In 2014 the March of Dimes funded $8 million to California research institutions and $4 million to the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford University, the first of five national trans-disciplinary research centers.  In 2015 more than $300,000 in community service grant funds will be given to local California organizations in support of the March of Dimes mission.  Fundraising special events held in California, such as: the annual March for Babies® walks (celebrating 45 years in 2015); Signature Chefs Auction foodie events; and, the March of Dimes Celebration of Babies® event, raise millions of dollars to fund research, advocacy, community programs, education and support for moms, babies and families inour communities.  Our legislative advocacy efforts in 2014 resulted in 10 new bills being passed with a focus on helping all babies have a healthy start in life.  California is one of only five states to receive an ‘A’ grade on the Preterm Birth Report Card, hitting a 24-year low in the rate of premature birth birth.  Still, there is more work to be done, as one in eleven babies are born too soon in California.  Follow our California efforts at facebook.com/marchofdimesca and twitter.com/modcal.