What is the Child Watch Visitation Program?

CARING FOR KANSAS crrrs MOTHERS AND INFANTSAN URGENT NEEDGood health is essential to children's development and achievement. Every child needshealth care that begins before birth with prenatal care and continues throughout childhoodand adolescence with attention to preventive, acute and chronic health care needs. Thefailure to assure primary and preventive health care exacts a high human and fIscal toll.The short-term savings ofnot providing crucial health services to children and to allpregnant w9men are outweighed by the economic costs of a generation unable to achieve inschool or in the workplace because ofpoor health.Too many children in Metropolitan Kansas City" are not getting the health care theyneed. On many crucial measures ofmaternal and child health, the area compares poorly toother midwestern states and to many other cities with similarly poor, minority populations.Infant Mortality. The most sensitive indicator of a population's health status, theinfant mortality rate reveals the extent to which the Metropolitan Kansas City area fails tomeet the needs ofmany mothers and children." In 1989, Metropolitan Kansas City's infant mortality rate was 10Ainfant deaths per1,000 live births." During this same period, Wyandotte County and Jackson County had higher infantmortality rates than both the Metropolitan area and their respective states." The counties within the Metropolitan Kansas City area (with the exception ofJohnson County) will require extensive intervention to reduce their infant mortalityrates in an effort to reach the national goal ofno more than 7 infant deaths per 1,000live births by the year 2000.Low Birthweight. The most signifIcant contributor to infant mortality is lowbirthweight. Low birthweight is dermed as birthweight under 2500 grams or 5.5 pounds.While not all babies ofnormal birthweight are automatically healthy, and not all lowbirthweight babies are automatically at a disadvantage, the evidence shows that being bornat low birthweight places a baby at greater risk. A low birthweight baby is more likely to"Metropolitan Kansas City includes Platte, Clay and Jackson Counties in Missouri, andJohnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.33