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The Federal Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA)  recently announced that additional funding has been allocated to the Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project (SHSPP), enabling the expansion of its innovative Alumni Peer Navigator (APN) Services Pilot with the following non-profits’ Healthy Start programs:

In September 2024, HRSA awarded supplemental funds to the current SHSPP recipient, the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ). With an award of $601,851, this funding will sustain and expand the second year of the Alumni Peer Navigator Services Pilot, enabling more Healthy Start grantees to implement this effective peer-to-peer workforce model. 

About the Program 

Launched in the summer of 2023, the Healthy Start Alumni Peer Navigator Services Pilot emerged from a collaboration between the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

The program aims to create a peer-support model tailored to help new parents navigate the challenges of early parenthood, from accessing social-emotional support to securing essential federal benefits and community resources. Alumni Peer Navigators include mothers and fathers who recently completed the Healthy Start program and serve as trusted guides, helping families within their communities. 

The peer navigator model is designed to address crucial issues like food insecurity, unstable housing, and lack of transportation—factors that can significantly hinder a family’s well-being during the critical prenatal and postpartum periods. Peer navigators, as former participants of the Healthy Start program, bring a unique perspective and a deep understanding of the challenges families face. Their guidance helps families better access public benefits and community resources, bridging gaps in care and support.

Read more about the evaluation of the project.

For more information on the APN Services Pilot, contact Aaron M. Lopata, MD, MPP, Senior Medical Officer at HRSA’s Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services, at [email protected] or (312) 315-4270.

Learn more about the use of Certified Peer Specialists for maternal mental health here