VNSNY’s Nurse-Family Partnership Goes to Albany!

NFP Staff and Clients Lobby State Legislators to Increase Program Funding

New York State Assemblyperson Michaelle Solages, VNSNY NFP nurse Snober Lakhani, and NFP mom Nora* with Nora’s daughter on the Assembly floor.

With state budget negotiations underway, a mom, baby and nurse from VNSNY’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program trekked to Albany last month to make the case—successfully—for more funding for this vital program.

Since it began in 2006, VNSNY’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) has helped more than 5,000 first-time Bronx and Nassau County mothers and their babies get a healthy head start. NFP is a national evidence-based nurse home visiting program that pairs young, first-time moms-to-be with specially trained nurses, who provide home visits starting early in the pregnancy and continuing through the child’s second birthday.

NFP was expected to receive $3 million in annual New York State funding next year—not enough, given the long waiting lists for the program. With the budget deadline approaching, NFP advocates were pressing for $1 million in additional funding. One morning last month, to help make the case, Snober Lakhani, a Nurse Manager with VNSNY’s Nassau NFP program, took the 7:15 a.m. train to Albany, New York with Nora*, a 24-year-old mother from Hempstead, Long Island, who has been with NFP for a year-and-a-half, and Nora’s one-year-old daughter, Elisa*.

Dan Lowenstein, VNSNY’s Vice President for Government Affairs.

VNSNY Government Affairs VP Dan Lowenstein and NFP representatives had arranged meetings with state legislators and accompanied the nurse and family on their visits. Nassau County elected officials were prioritized, since  VNSNY’s Nassau County NFP program currently exceeds funded capacity and has a growing waiting list. Assembly Member Michaelle Solages—who has seven families in her district and who led the Assembly effort for increased NFP funding—brought the nurse, mother and baby onto the Assembly floor to be publicly recognized.

“We salute you as health professionals and nurses. And to the littlest of one—it’s always a pleasure to have children visit us,” said Acting Assembly Speaker Jeffrion Aubry. “Thank you so very much, and we hope that your trip will be beneficial.”

“I had no support system at all before I started with NFP last August,” Nora added. “My NFP nurse, Annette Maldonado, is amazing. She is always there for me, from questions like the right dose for Elisa’s medicine to things like housing. Now, with Elisa about to turn one in April, I’m taking night school courses online. My daughter is a healthy, happy child, and I’m feeling good about my own future.”

Other legislators and staff that the team met with included Assembly Ways and Means Chair Helene Weinstein, Assembly Member Earlene Hooper (with 39 families in her district), Senate Health Committee Chairman Kemp Hannon (33 families), State Senator Brad Hoylman (who represents the district in which VNSNY is headquartered), and State Senator Elaine Philips (8 families), who led the Senate effort for increased NFP funding.

Snober, Nora, and Elisa didn’t get home until 8:00 that night. “We thought it would be most impactful for officials to hear directly from a mother about what NFP has meant to her and her child,” says Snober. “We all hoped that our investment of time would pay dividends in additional funding for this wonderful program.”

It did. The final budget, enacted March 30, contained an $800,000 increase in NFP funding (an increase of more than 25 percent over the original funding proposal). “This is the first substantial funding increase for NFP in years,” notes Carol Odnoha, Director of VNSNY’s NFP program. “We’re grateful for the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature, who recognize how important this program is to families served by VNSNY and NFP programs throughout New York State.”

 *The clients’ names have been changed for privacy