Press Releases

Committee for Children’s New Parent Mentoring Platform Honored with $100K Innovation Grant Evaluation

Nurture® Seattle to be evaluated by research Innovation Grant from UW Medicine Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions

 SEATTLE—June 1, 2021—Committee for Children’s text-based mentoring platform for new and expecting parents, Nurture Seattle, will benefit from a $100K Innovation Grant from the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine’s Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions. In collaboration with Committee for Children’s innovation lab, Dr. Amritha Bhat, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine will use the grant funding to conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) made up of 200 new and expecting parents receiving care at University of Washington Medical Center -Northwest. The RCT will assess the effects of the Nurture Seattle program on caregivers’ social, emotional, and mental well-being.

“Navigating the social and emotional transition to parenthood can be tough. We’re thrilled to receive support from the Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions to implement inventive, research-based strategies to support new parents during this time,” said Mia Doces, vice president of innovation at Committee for Children. “The grant will give us deeper insight into the expecting and new parents’ well-being to allow us to expand our services to further enrich the parent community.”

The UW Medicine Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions 2021 Innovation Grants awarded $1.3 million in funding to 13 UW faculty-led teams working on technology-driven solutions that aim to improve brain health.

“These projects are significant investments in new ideas and collaborations to improve the lives of individuals and families living with mental health and brain health problems,” said Dr. Jürgen Unützer, director of the Garvey Institute and professor and chair of the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Nurture Seattle launched in April 2020 with the knowledge that one of the best ways to help children thrive is to support their parents in their journey to parenthood. A text-based mentoring program, Nurture Seattle brings together a community of new and expecting parents to help build confidence and connection through nonjudgmental support and individualized mentoring.

“We’re honored to receive this research support for Nurture Seattle,” said Committee for Children CEO Andrea Lovanhill. “Partnerships like this play a fundamental role in achieving our goal to positively transform the social-emotional well-being of 100 million children annually by 2028.”

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About Committee for Children

Committee for Children is on a mission to ensure children everywhere can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. Best known for our innovative social-emotional learning programs that blend research and rigor with intuitive design, we empower children and adults with skills that help them realize their goals in the classroom and throughout their lives. Since 1979, we’ve been connecting experts in the field to share experiences and advance the cause of educating the whole child. We also help pass policies and legislation that place importance on creating safe and supportive learning environments. Today our programs reach more than 20.5 million children in 34 percent of all U.S. elementary schools. By lifting up children today, we’re helping them create a safe and positive society for the future. Learn more at cfchildren.org.

About the Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions

The mission of the Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions (GIBHS) at UW Medicine is to improve the health for the millions of people at risk for and affected by mental health, substance use and other brain health disorders. Founded with a $50 million gift by local philanthropists Lynn and Mike Garvey, we develop, test and rapidly deploy innovative approaches to prevent and treat brain health and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, schizophrenia, addiction, dementia and suicide. Learn more at gibhs.psychiatry.uw.edu and by following @UWPsychiatry on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Media Contacts

Shauna McBride

Vice President of Public Relations and Communications, Committee for Children

smcbride@cfchildren.org, 206-612-8718

 

M’Bilia Meekers

Public Relations Manager, Committee for Children

mmeekers@cfchildren.org, 206-438-6541