Implementing Oklahoma’s Community-Based Family Resource and Support (CBFRS) Program

Oklahoma’s CBFRS model was developed to improve the health and development outcomes of mothers and their infants. The model targeted first-time mothers and was designed to provide an intensive level of service through weekly and biweekly visits. Based on research suggesting that home visiting provided by professionals as opposed to paraprofessionals might provide more positive impacts, the model developers decided to use professionals in the field of child development to provide the home visits.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act amendments of 1996 allocated funding for state Community-Based Family Resource and Support (CBFRS) programs designed to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect through a wide range of services. Oklahoma used CBFRS funding to implement a home visiting program for first-time mothers.

Oklahoma’s CBFRS program targeted first-time mothers living in rural counties.

The model was designed to enhance maternal and child health and development. Specifically the program sought to positively affect mothers’ parenting knowledge and skill, use of community services, family planning, household safety, and child immunization. The program also aimed to increase mothers’ knowledge of the effects of second-hand smoke on their children and decrease the number of cigarettes smoked.

Oklahoma’s CBFRS program provided home visitation to participants prenatally through the child’s first birthday. The content and the intensity of the program varied depending upon the stage of the intervention and the age of the child.

The program was designed to be initiated before 28 weeks gestation and continue to the child’s first birthday. The frequency of the home visits varied based upon the program phase. During pregnancy, participants were visited weekly the first month of the program, followed by biweekly visits until the child’s birth for a total of eight prenatal visits. After the child’s birth, home visits occurred weekly during the first three months of the child’s life and biweekly for the next three months, for a total of 18 visits. Between six months and one year, biweekly visits continued for the remainder of the program for a total of 12 visits. Each visit was about an hour in length.

The program was implemented in 12 rural counties in Oklahoma.

No information is available.

The information contained on this page was last updated in April 2012.