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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) Director Kara B. Wente announced Wednesday in Toledo the launch of an effort to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality rates.
Through the DeWine-Tressel Administration’s newly announced Partner for Change initiative, DCY is teaming up with several organizations across the state to take a highly effective model, pioneered by Hamilton County-based nonprofit Cradle Cincinnati, and expand it into new communities throughout Ohio.
Cradle Cincinnati’s model focuses on bringing together parents, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and community members to support moms and babies. They have played a pivotal role in reducing infant mortality rates in Hamilton County. In 2022, their infant mortality rate was 8.7 deaths for every 1,000 live births. In the time since, this number has dropped to 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births – a decrease of well over 30% in just a few short years.
Grant partners in four additional counties have been selected to collaborate with DCY to conduct this expand this model into communities with the highest birth and infant mortality rates in Ohio.
In Lucas County, the grant partner selected is the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio (HCNO). Today’s event was held in collaboration with HCNO and hosted at the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo’s Homer Hanham Club.
Other grant partners selected for the expansion include First Year Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), CelebrateOne (Franklin County), and Dayton Children’s Hospital (Montgomery County).