Helping Moms-To-Be; Florida Social Workers Seek Out Women at Risk of HIV or Homelessness Who Might Not Look for Aid

As an outreach worker for Children's Case Management Organization in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Felica Jones knows women at risk of HIV or homelessness won't wander into the nearest health clinic for a sonogram. She knows women using drugs or fearing deportation won't ask a government employee for help, and she knows this increases the dangers for their unborn babies.

So on a daily basis, often on weekends and late into the night, Jones and the program's nine other outreach workers go on the hunt. Lisa Boggs, coordinator of the organization's Targeted Outreach for Pregnant Women program, a state project funded through the Department of Health, said, "These are women that are in such crisis . . . getting them into care is so important because some of these women are HIV-positive, and without prenatal care they could spread the virus to the unborn child. That's really what our major focus is."

The program, which began in 1999 as a pilot project for Florida communities with high rates of HIV/AIDS, at first served about 10 pregnant Palm Beach County women a month, said Julie Swindler, Children's Case Management's executive director. Now on a $250,000 annual budget, outreach workers refer 20 to 30 women a month for prenatal care and other social services -- tripling the program's effect and keeping the number of HIV-positive babies in check. For women who aren't pregnant, outreach workers provide information on birth control, HIV prevention, drug treatment and other community services. Since the program's inception, workers have screened more than 7,800 women, found 637 who were pregnant, and made 973 health care-related referrals.

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