Six months with a new mom and the Bright Start program

Grants | Legacy Digitization | Topics | Health & Wellness |
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South Dakota's child mortality rate is among the highest in the nation. A recent Kids Count Survey ranks South Dakota 49th for deaths among children. There were two homicides in Sioux Falls last year, both were babies shaken to death. As a way to give kids a better start in life, Governor Bill Janklow ordered a pilot program to send nurses into the homes of young women who are raising a child on their own or, without much support. Janklow says the home visits help moms improve their own health, have healthier babies and become better parents. In it's first year the Bright Start program is at capacity with 234 new moms in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland spent the last six months following one young woman. They met for the first time, the day she became a new mom.

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Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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