Lane County commissioners lean toward $392,000 bridge to sustain Nurse Family Partnership home-visiting program

Lane County public health officials asked the Board of County Commissioners on July 22 to direct staff to identify one-time local resources to bridge a funding gap for the county’s Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) home-visiting program, recommending an additional $392,000 for the current fiscal year to sustain services.

The request followed months of uncertainty after the Oregon Legislature did not pass expected funding to cover the local match that enables Medicaid targeted case management billing. “Every $1 invested in Nurse Family Partnership results in a $6.10 return on investment to Oregon,” said Chelsea Whitney, family and child health nursing supervisor, as she described program outcomes and local data showing reductions in child abuse and improvements in maternal and child health.

Why it matters: County staff said NFP serves one of the highest-need populations in Lane County and leverages Medicaid billing (targeted case management) to bring in about $1.7 million in reimbursement annually. That federal/state revenue requires a local match; without the state match the county must provide the match to continue drawing the Medicaid funds and maintain program capacity.

Program and outcomes overview Chelsea Whitney described the county’s family and child health service array and summarized long-term outcomes tracked locally since NFP launched in Lane County in 2012. Local results staff cited include 88% of enrolled…