Circles of Sisters: Enhancing Family Development with Doula Care for Beloit Teen Mothers and their Children

Project Overview

4th Funding Cycle Development Award
     Project Start Date: 7/1/2008
     Project End Date: 6/30/2009

Project Goal Statement: This planning project will develop community partnerships and conduct a needs assessment to explore the feasibility of implementing a doula program for teen mothers in Beloit in order to address health disparities and increase maternal and child health.

Original Award Amount: $49,501
Adjusted Award Amount: $44,062*

Community Partners:
Primary Community Partner: Beloit College
Additional community partner organization names:

• Beloit Area Community Health Center
• Community Action - HUB Connections
• Family Services of Southern Wisconsin & Northern Illinois, Inc.

Academic Partners:
Primary Academic Partner: Emmanuel Ngui, DrPH, MSc, Department of Pediatrics
Additional Academic Partners: Alicia Cortright, MPH, Department of Pediatrics

Project Progress Summary Reports:
     Project Progress Report Summary 7/1/2008 - 4/30/2009
     Project Final Report Summary    

Affiliated Web Pages:
     Beloit Area Community Health Center
     Family Services of Southern Wisconsin & Northern Illinois, Inc.

Project Dissemination Efforts (as reported by project partners)

• Outreach Materials / Events
  • Developed community pamphlet describing the Circles of Sisters community-based doula initiative (July – Dec 2008)
  • Participated in the Beloit Infant Mortality Town Hall meetings briefly discussing the project (July – Dec 2008)
  • Conducted community needs assessment through surveys and focus groups to gather community feedback related to the project
• Presentations
  • Informal oral presentations about the project made to the Beloit African American Infant Mortality Coalition, the Beloit Foundation and the Hendricks Foundation (Jan – June 2009)

*In 2009 award amounts, based on the remaining budget, were adjusted to reflect the decline in endowment asset value due to the downturn in the economy.