Comprehensive Evaluation of Hawaii's Healthy Start Program.

This conference paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the characteristics and needs of mothers participating in Hawaii's Healthy Start Program (HSP). The HSP is a screening and outreach program with two components: (1) the early identification component, which consists of community-based screening to identify newborns at environmental risk for child abuse and neglect and (2) the Home Visiting component, which consists of in-home counseling by trained paraprofessionals. The evaluation focused on six geographically defined communities on Oahu that are served by HSP program sites and included a sample of 664 participants. Results indicated: (1) most mothers qualify for the state's health coverage program, which is targeted to low-income families; (2) half of the mothers received WIC while pregnant; (3) 18 percent reported problems with their current living situation; (4) 20 percent reported they will need help finding a job or work training; (5) 40 percent reported needing help arranging child care to return to work or school; and (6) 95 percent of the mothers were classified as being in poor mental health. (Contains 22 references.) (CR)