This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Longmont City Council voted on Tuesday evening to renew GENESIS program funding for 2018.
GENESIS, which began as a pilot program in 1989, helps promote healthy parenting practices to teen parents in Boulder County. Services are only provided to teen parents from pregnancy to their child's third birthday.
The funding, which amounts to $40,079, will fund the salary and benefits of one full-time program specialist to work with Longmont teen families.
Under the 2018 contract with the City of Longmont, GENESIS will deliver supportive prenatal services, such as: nutritional education, childbirth education, transportation to necessary prenatal appointments and more, to about 90 pregnant clients.
GENESIS staff will also, according to the scope of services document, "assess and provide individualized parenting/nurturing education/activities to enhance parent/child bonding to at least 95% of participating GENESIS clients." Some of these activities include parenting education, age-appropriate child development education, home visits, and more.
The City of Longmont along with the City of Boulder, Boulder County Government, Boulder County Public Health, Maternal Child Health grant and other smaller foundation grants, have been involved in a countywide funding collaboration since the GENESIS program started.
For more information about the GENESIS program, please visit the Boulder County website; to read the 2018 contract in full, please see below.
