This past May and June, Maternal and Child Health Consortium (MCHC) was invited by the Chester County Department of Human Resources to provide a series of four workshops for Chester County employees designed to meet the challenges of providing county services to the Latino community.  This series was designed to help county employees better understand, and more effectively respond to, the needs of the growing Latino community in Chester County.  Workshop participants received core information, practical strategies and tools to facilitate greater access and utilization of county services by the Latino community.

MCHC provided the following sessions: 1) Accessing County Services: Impact of Immigration Status and Language, which was designed to give department directors and key program administrators an overview of why Latinos immigrate; immigration laws; and Federal requirements on access to services; 2) Latino Cultural Beliefs and Values, which provided an overview of key cultural concepts such as family structure, disciplining children, religion, respect, and trust;  3) Immigrants and Public Benefits: Immigration status is a key determinant of eligibility for public benefits such as TANF, Medical Assistance, food stamps, and Social Security. Even undocumented immigrants, under certain circumstances, may be eligible for limited health benefits; and 4) Bridging the Language Gap, which highlighted how legal requirements apply to county programs and discussed strategies for bridging language barriers to increase language accessibility.

MCHC Funding News

·         Maternal and Child Health Consortium (MCHC) was recently awarded a grant from Claneil Foundation, Inc. to fund a bilingual nurse/educator to work with Spanish-speaking women in our Healthy Start program.  The bilingual nurse/educator will provide in-home coordination of medical assessment, care, and health education for pregnant and post-partum Spanish-speaking Healthy Start participants. 

·         MCHC was one of 77 federal Healthy Start grants awarded to improve health care for pregnant women and reduce higher-than-average infant mortality rates in targeted communities.  The grant award covers a four-year period of 2005 through 2009.  This grant award marks the third time MCHC has been awarded a four year Healthy Start grant award.