Healthy Start

Partnering for Improved Maternal and Child Health Outcomes

Did you know, the missions and goals of the Healthy Start and WIC programs complement each other?  Both programs not only work to improve the health outcomes for their participants, but work with pregnant women, new mothers and their young children. This creates a unique opportunity to help mutual program participants reach better health and well-being.

Healthy Start is a community-based federal program seeking to eliminate national disparities in infant mortality, perinatal outcomes, promoting behavioral and mental health, and women’s health by improving systems of community care. Serving a similar population to WIC - women, infants, and families through their children’s second birthday - Healthy Start programs also promote breastfeeding support, the engagement of fathers in the lives of their families, and assistance for children through critical milestones.

In pursuit of these goals, Healthy Start aims to:

• Improve access to quality health care and services for women, infants, children, and families through outreach, care coordination, health education, and linkage to health insurance;
• Strengthen the health workforce, specifically, those individuals responsible for providing direct services;
• Build healthy communities and ensure that ongoing, coordinated, and comprehensive services are provided in the most efficient manner through effective service delivery; and
• Promote and improve health equity by connecting participants with appropriate organizations.

For more ideas on how to partner with community organizations, such as Healthy Start, see the Partnering with WIC tip sheet, available in English and Spanish.