November 13, 2025 • 11 mins
In this segment of Insight, a show about empowering our community, host Loraine Ballard Morrill explores a powerful new resource for families in Delaware County. Family Village, launched by The Foundation for Delaware County, brings together comprehensive, wraparound services — from pregnancy to early childhood — all under one roof. Loraine is joined by Joanne Craig, Chief Impact Officer, who shares how this innovative hub is helping families thrive, improving maternal health outcomes, and ensuring every child gets the strong start they deserve. Listeners will learn what inspired the creation of Family Village, the range of services offered, how it builds on decades of maternal and child health work, and how community members can get involved or access support.
🌐 Website & Socials Website: www.delcofamilyvillage.org
Instagram: @delcofamilyvillage
Facebook: Delco Family Village
🌐 Website & Socials Website: www.delcofamilyvillage.org
Instagram: @delcofamilyvillage
Facebook: Delco Family Village
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballat Tomorrow today, we'll talk with
the Center for Black Educator Development about their work to
increase the number of black teachers and why representation is
so critical to student success. We'll also hear from faith
leaders about organ donation during National Donor Sabbath. But first,
(00:21):
raising a family takes a village, and in Delaware County,
that village just got stronger. Family Village is a new
initiative from the Foundation of Delaware County bringing together wrap
around services that support families from pregnancy through early childhood,
all in one place. Joining us is Joanne Craig, chief
Impact Officer for the Foundation for Delaware County, to share
(00:43):
how this new hub is helping families thrive and ensuring
every child has a strong start in life. Joanne, congratulations
first of all on the launch of Family Village. Let's
start with a big picture. What inspired this initiative and
what makes it unique for Delaware County Families.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Service recipient inspired this initiative, We literally needed an effort
that would help with accessibility to these services, and so
the Foundation has had this collection of supportive services for
quite some time, but sometimes the services are hidden. You
(01:23):
need to be enrolled within Healthy Start with or Nurse
Family Partnership to access some of our other services. And
so really about accessibility, and it is a bit different
to find these services at a community foundation because they
(01:44):
are public health related supportive services. So also giving them
an identity again contributing to accessibility.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Access is really what got us started.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
We know that red tape can be so daunting for
so many families. So it sounds like this is a
great one stop shop. You describe Family Village as one
place many services. Can you walk us through what kind
of support that families can receive?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yes, so this is a great resource for young families
and new families, starting with pregnant women all the way
through young parents that have children up to the age
of five, and so yes, it is many services in
one location, single point of access. And so we start
(02:33):
with Wick Healthy Start or Nurse Family Partnership that one
can enroll in if they're interested in support through pregnancy
which helps with better maternal and birth outcomes. But you
can also enroll outside of pregnancy if you have a
young child from age zero to five. And so once
(02:55):
you are enrolling in the services that you are eligible for.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Some have a each limitations.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Then we work with you as a family to identify
what your wants and your needs are and to connect
you to the resources that are going to help you
to meet your wants and needs, or to deal with
whatever crisis is happening in the moment, to try to
smooth out the obstacles and the bumps in the road
(03:22):
so that you can focus on being pregnant, or you
can focus on parenting and work to get that job
done well.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Success is always in the numbers, So tell us what
impact have you seen in efforts like lowering infant mortality,
prenatal care rate issues, and better birth outcomes? Can you
tell us more about what impact you are seeing with
all these changes in these resources, access to resources.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
It helps to be surrounded by the village. It is
literally that simple. We see better maternal and birth outcomes,
so we're seeing fewer babies that are born too soon
or too small. We are seeing fewer incidents of infant mortality.
We are seeing zero incidents of maternal mortality all in
(04:14):
the population that we serve. Over anyone giving birth or
any young child here in Delaware, County. So we do
make a difference, and why because it is the collection
of services that touches family, so it's not just one resource.
And then you need to go somewhere else to gain
(04:35):
access to mental health services or literally that you need
to figure out where the WIG program is. When you
enroll in Healthy Start or Nurse Family Partnership, one of
the first questions that we ask is are you enrolled
in WICK, and so if you're not, that's one of
the first things that we're going to do. But then
we're going to also ask you what your wants and
(04:57):
needs are so that we can work with you to
come up with plan to connect you to whatever you need.
But it's not a one and done So we are
working with walking Alongside families for at least eighteen months
or longer. If you enroll in pregnancy and you're eligible
for WICK, we actually are working with families for more
(05:18):
than five years.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Things happen along the way.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So when you're enrolled in these services, you are already
connected to help, and help will always be there or
on the way to connect you to whatever you need
to help you troubleshoot whatever the needs or the problems are.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Well we're certainly grateful for an organization like the Foundation
for Delaware County. We also know that there are lots
of challenges out there right now, with hospital closing certainly
Crosier Chester being a very prime example, and also the
government shutdown as it is now and efforts by some
to cut back on some of the kinds of funding
(05:58):
that really energizes these kinds of programs. So how do
you deal with some of these challenges and how do
they play in addressing these urgent community needs?
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And I should add also the fact that the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania doesn't have a budget which also contributes. Yes,
so we are i'll say, experts at learning about knowing
and understanding the challenges and how to navigate these challenges. So,
whether it is what's going on with SNAP and understanding
(06:32):
what the reality is with SNAP and if SNAP becomes unavailable,
we know exactly where the food security resources are in
the county, and we're going to make sure that it's
not just handing you an address or a phone number,
but we're going to make sure that if you need
a ride to get there, that you're going to get there,
or your case manager or nurse might even arrange to
(06:55):
go pick up a box of food for your family
and bring it to your house, because our work is
in the homes, it's not just in the community. If
you are looking at whether you're going to be eligible
for benefits related to the work requirements, we already have
been taught and we know and we understand exactly what
(07:18):
you're eligible for, and we can help to walk you
through whatever the application is, or whatever the information requirement is,
on whatever frequency so that you maintain those benefits. We also,
within our services have a medical Legal Partnership and these
are civil attorneys that only our enrolled program participants can access,
(07:43):
but they help with accessing whatever benefits are available to you,
and if you've had some obstacles, helping to navigate the
grievance process or reapplication.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
So we have some superpowers. I'd like to say in
the family.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Village, I love that. I love that we know how
difficult it is to navigate all of the different benefit
programs that are out there. And I know that in
my early years, my salad days, when I was trying
to get my next meal, I actually did try to
apply for food stamps and I ended up giving up
because it was so difficult back then. Now this was
a long long time ago, but nevertheless I got to
(08:21):
see up close and personal how hard it is and
sometimes how you know, almost difficult it is from a
self worth standpoint. You know, you go to apply and
someone says, well, you know, we're not sure if you qualify,
and all that stuff. There's so much emotion that can
also be attached to asking for help, and so it
sounds like you provide a gentle helping hand and the
(08:45):
embrace of the village to assist families and children to
navigate through all the complexities of getting the benefits that
they deserve and they are qualified for. So Joanne tell us,
how can families, community partners or support get connected and
learn more about Family Village.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So to your point about that general helping hand, that
is exactly who and what we are and the work
that we want to do. So to get connected, it's simple.
I talked about accessibility early on. We wanted to make
it simple. So we have a very easy to navigate
friendly website that is www dot Delcofamilyvillage dot org. We
(09:28):
have a single phone number that you can use no
matter which services you want to access, and that number
is area code four eight four four seven one three
three two zero. Whether you want to apply for WICK
or you're interested in enrolling in Healthy Start, you use
one number. And when we are out in the community
(09:50):
doing our outreach work, our staff are knowledgeable about all
of our programs and services. So if you encounter any
one of us in the community, we're going to ask
you some questions to try to understand your situation, and
once again we're going to make it easy for you.
We're going to connect you to the right programs that
(10:10):
will meet and address your needs.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Well. I am absolutely delighted to talk with you and
to have you share this very important information. Certainly now
more than ever, when people are really suffering from the
cutbacks and benefits and snap and all the things that
are actually working against keeping families healthy and well fed.
(10:32):
Is wonderful to have an organization like the Foundation for
Delaware County bringing together wrap around services that support families
from pregnancy through early childhood, all in one place. It's
a one stop shop. Joanne Craig, chief Impact Officer for
the Foundation for Delaware County, thank you for sharing information
about this really great program, this family program that helps
(10:54):
so many people in Delaware County. Thank you for joining
us today.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
You're welcome. I'm happy to be thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
We'll have more insight after these messages.
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballat Tomorrow today, we'll talk with
the Center for Black Educator Development about their work to
increase the number of black teachers and why representation is
so critical to student success. We'll also hear from faith
leaders about organ donation during National Donor Sabbath. But first,
(00:21):
raising a family takes a village, and in Delaware County,
that village just got stronger. Family Village is a new
initiative from the Foundation of Delaware County bringing together wrap
around services that support families from pregnancy through early childhood,
all in one place. Joining us is Joanne Craig, chief
Impact Officer for the Foundation for Delaware County, to share
(00:43):
how this new hub is helping families thrive and ensuring
every child has a strong start in life. Joanne, congratulations
first of all on the launch of Family Village. Let's
start with a big picture. What inspired this initiative and
what makes it unique for Delaware County Families.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Service recipient inspired this initiative, We literally needed an effort
that would help with accessibility to these services, and so
the Foundation has had this collection of supportive services for
quite some time, but sometimes the services are hidden. You
(01:23):
need to be enrolled within Healthy Start with or Nurse
Family Partnership to access some of our other services. And
so really about accessibility, and it is a bit different
to find these services at a community foundation because they
(01:44):
are public health related supportive services. So also giving them
an identity again contributing to accessibility.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Access is really what got us started.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
We know that red tape can be so daunting for
so many families. So it sounds like this is a
great one stop shop. You describe Family Village as one
place many services. Can you walk us through what kind
of support that families can receive?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yes, so this is a great resource for young families
and new families, starting with pregnant women all the way
through young parents that have children up to the age
of five, and so yes, it is many services in
one location, single point of access. And so we start
(02:33):
with Wick Healthy Start or Nurse Family Partnership that one
can enroll in if they're interested in support through pregnancy
which helps with better maternal and birth outcomes. But you
can also enroll outside of pregnancy if you have a
young child from age zero to five. And so once
(02:55):
you are enrolling in the services that you are eligible for.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Some have a each limitations.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Then we work with you as a family to identify
what your wants and your needs are and to connect
you to the resources that are going to help you
to meet your wants and needs, or to deal with
whatever crisis is happening in the moment, to try to
smooth out the obstacles and the bumps in the road
(03:22):
so that you can focus on being pregnant, or you
can focus on parenting and work to get that job
done well.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Success is always in the numbers, So tell us what
impact have you seen in efforts like lowering infant mortality,
prenatal care rate issues, and better birth outcomes? Can you
tell us more about what impact you are seeing with
all these changes in these resources, access to resources.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
It helps to be surrounded by the village. It is
literally that simple. We see better maternal and birth outcomes,
so we're seeing fewer babies that are born too soon
or too small. We are seeing fewer incidents of infant mortality.
We are seeing zero incidents of maternal mortality all in
(04:14):
the population that we serve. Over anyone giving birth or
any young child here in Delaware, County. So we do
make a difference, and why because it is the collection
of services that touches family, so it's not just one resource.
And then you need to go somewhere else to gain
(04:35):
access to mental health services or literally that you need
to figure out where the WIG program is. When you
enroll in Healthy Start or Nurse Family Partnership, one of
the first questions that we ask is are you enrolled
in WICK, and so if you're not, that's one of
the first things that we're going to do. But then
we're going to also ask you what your wants and
(04:57):
needs are so that we can work with you to
come up with plan to connect you to whatever you need.
But it's not a one and done So we are
working with walking Alongside families for at least eighteen months
or longer. If you enroll in pregnancy and you're eligible
for WICK, we actually are working with families for more
(05:18):
than five years.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Things happen along the way.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So when you're enrolled in these services, you are already
connected to help, and help will always be there or
on the way to connect you to whatever you need
to help you troubleshoot whatever the needs or the problems are.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Well we're certainly grateful for an organization like the Foundation
for Delaware County. We also know that there are lots
of challenges out there right now, with hospital closing certainly
Crosier Chester being a very prime example, and also the
government shutdown as it is now and efforts by some
to cut back on some of the kinds of funding
(05:58):
that really energizes these kinds of programs. So how do
you deal with some of these challenges and how do
they play in addressing these urgent community needs?
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And I should add also the fact that the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania doesn't have a budget which also contributes. Yes,
so we are i'll say, experts at learning about knowing
and understanding the challenges and how to navigate these challenges. So,
whether it is what's going on with SNAP and understanding
(06:32):
what the reality is with SNAP and if SNAP becomes unavailable,
we know exactly where the food security resources are in
the county, and we're going to make sure that it's
not just handing you an address or a phone number,
but we're going to make sure that if you need
a ride to get there, that you're going to get there,
or your case manager or nurse might even arrange to
(06:55):
go pick up a box of food for your family
and bring it to your house, because our work is
in the homes, it's not just in the community. If
you are looking at whether you're going to be eligible
for benefits related to the work requirements, we already have
been taught and we know and we understand exactly what
(07:18):
you're eligible for, and we can help to walk you
through whatever the application is, or whatever the information requirement is,
on whatever frequency so that you maintain those benefits. We also,
within our services have a medical Legal Partnership and these
are civil attorneys that only our enrolled program participants can access,
(07:43):
but they help with accessing whatever benefits are available to you,
and if you've had some obstacles, helping to navigate the
grievance process or reapplication.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
So we have some superpowers. I'd like to say in
the family.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Village, I love that. I love that we know how
difficult it is to navigate all of the different benefit
programs that are out there. And I know that in
my early years, my salad days, when I was trying
to get my next meal, I actually did try to
apply for food stamps and I ended up giving up
because it was so difficult back then. Now this was
a long long time ago, but nevertheless I got to
(08:21):
see up close and personal how hard it is and
sometimes how you know, almost difficult it is from a
self worth standpoint. You know, you go to apply and
someone says, well, you know, we're not sure if you qualify,
and all that stuff. There's so much emotion that can
also be attached to asking for help, and so it
sounds like you provide a gentle helping hand and the
(08:45):
embrace of the village to assist families and children to
navigate through all the complexities of getting the benefits that
they deserve and they are qualified for. So Joanne tell us,
how can families, community partners or support get connected and
learn more about Family Village.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So to your point about that general helping hand, that
is exactly who and what we are and the work
that we want to do. So to get connected, it's simple.
I talked about accessibility early on. We wanted to make
it simple. So we have a very easy to navigate
friendly website that is www dot Delcofamilyvillage dot org. We
(09:28):
have a single phone number that you can use no
matter which services you want to access, and that number
is area code four eight four four seven one three
three two zero. Whether you want to apply for WICK
or you're interested in enrolling in Healthy Start, you use
one number. And when we are out in the community
(09:50):
doing our outreach work, our staff are knowledgeable about all
of our programs and services. So if you encounter any
one of us in the community, we're going to ask
you some questions to try to understand your situation, and
once again we're going to make it easy for you.
We're going to connect you to the right programs that
(10:10):
will meet and address your needs.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Well. I am absolutely delighted to talk with you and
to have you share this very important information. Certainly now
more than ever, when people are really suffering from the
cutbacks and benefits and snap and all the things that
are actually working against keeping families healthy and well fed.
(10:32):
Is wonderful to have an organization like the Foundation for
Delaware County bringing together wrap around services that support families
from pregnancy through early childhood, all in one place. It's
a one stop shop. Joanne Craig, chief Impact Officer for
the Foundation for Delaware County, thank you for sharing information
about this really great program, this family program that helps
(10:54):
so many people in Delaware County. Thank you for joining
us today.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
You're welcome. I'm happy to be thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
We'll have more insight after these messages.
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