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Bridget's Path warns loss of $1M infant vitality line would force closure of residential infant care center
Summary
Bridget's Path told senators that the program for substance‑exposed newborns needs the $1 million line item restored in HB 96 to continue operating; without it the Dayton center said it is cutting operations and turning families away.
Jill Kingston, founder and president of Bridget's Path, testified to the Senate Finance Committee that the Dayton‑area residential infant care center for substance‑exposed newborns relies on a $1 million line item the Senate removed from the budget.
“Without the funding, Bridget's Path quite literally cannot stay open,” Kingston said, adding her program had already taken steps to reduce operations by 50% and was turning away babies and families. She said nearly 300 babies and families have been served by the center and that the center’s model — inpatient, home‑like medical care with family wraparound supports — resulted in 85% of infants avoiding foster care.
Nut graf: Kingston asked the General Assembly to restore $1 million allocated to residential infant care centers through a Department of Children and Youth infant vitality line item, saying the funding was intended to implement sustainable reimbursement developed jointly with the Department of Medicaid (ODM) and DCY in temporary language from the prior budget.
Kingston said ODM’s rules implementing the service line are near effective date; DCY had allocated infant vitality funds in the prior budget. She told the committee the Senate’s elimination of the $1,000,000 undermines prior legislative directives and makes it “impossible for Bridget's Path to sustain our work.”
Committee members did not move a formal amendment on the record during the hearing; testimony was entered as part of HB 96 deliberations.
Ending: Bridget's Path invited senators to review the Dayton program and asked lawmakers to restore the infant vitality funding so the center can continue care and avoid placing newborns in NICUs with a higher likelihood of foster care placement.
