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Director: Carolyn Seval Brooks, R.N.
Phone: (617) 414-7433
Project RISE (Raising Infants in Secure Environments) is a pediatric clinical intervention and research project evaluating a new service model for at-risk families whose newborns receive primary care at Boston Medical Center.
The Project is designed to provide:
- pediatric care
- family support
- strong relationships between families and providers
- educational support
- legal assistance
- women's healthcare
Project RISE also provides the same services to adolescent pregnant and parenting women through the Boston Healthy Start Initiative at the Boston Medical Center Teen and Tot Clinic. Through RISE, infants receive primary care and transportation to and from well-child visits, as well as periodic developmental assessments. Families and their primary care provider will work with a Family Advocate who will provide case management, parenting support, child development screening, and referral to needed behavioral health services.
Goals of Project RISE
The overall goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of integrating behavioral health services with primary health care services for very young children and their families/caretakers. relative to the outcomes for those children and families who receive the usual standard of community care. Specifically, this study will evaluate the effectiveness of the integrated intervention by comparing outcome measures in two randomly assigned groups of inner-city, low income, at-risk parents/caretakers and their infants. The Research component will be completed in September 2002.
It is hypothesized that the infants and parents/caregivers participating in the intervention will have significant improvement in the following areas:
I. Access and community/system of care outcomes:
- systems transformation within BMC; opening a closed and fragmented system to maximize access and use of resources
- linkages to community resources for treatment
- increase retention in the program
- completion of referrals and receipt of needed services in the areas of housing, food, clothing, childcare, transportation, job training, education, employment
- increase knowledge base of primary care providers in behavioral health issues.
II. Behavioral health outcomes of infant:
- secure attachment to parent/caregiver
- age appropriate self-regulation and behavioral skills
- social competence
- cognitive and developmental competence
III. Behavioral health outcomes of the parent/caregiver
- improved mental health including decreased depression
- less substance abuse
- less tobacco use
- planning and life organization skills - decrease in unplanned pregnancy, plan for and completion of basic health care needs
- appropriate parenting skills
- improved family functioning (e.g. absence of abuse/violence)
For more information:
Project RISE
91 East Concord Street, 5th Floor
Boston Medical Center
Boston, MA 02118-2393
(617) 414-7433 | 
