The Perinatal Council "Celebrates the Child" for its 20th Anniversary, October 7, 2011

In 1979, in response to unacceptable rates of infant mortality and illness in Oakland, the Oakland Perinatal Health Project began providing education, outreach, and coordination of direct comprehensive care services with a staff of six people; and in 1984, the East Bay Perinatal Council was incorporated as a not-for-profit agency. The organization operated continuously under that name until 2001, earning a reputation for exceptional service delivery and program management.

In 2001, the East Bay Perinatal Council adopted a new name - The Perinatal Council (TPC). The change in name reflects the depth of the agency's experience and the influence of the work beyond the two county service area. The mission of The Perinatal Council is to save the lives of babies, enhance the parenting skills and well-being of mothers and fathers, encourage healthy choices for teens, promote self-sufficiency, increase the joy in being a family, and cultivate partnerships for building healthy communities.

The Perinatal Council places special emphasis on serving low-income African American and Latino families and others at risk for less than optimal pregnancy outcomes. The Perinatal Council has played a pivotal role in reducing teen pregnancy rates in the East Bay.

During the past two decades, The Perinatal Council has become a well-known provider of services to teens, women, families, and young children. In 1985, the State awarded The Perinatal Council the Adolescent Family Life Program (AFLP) grant to provide comprehensive case management for pregnant and parenting teens in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The Perinatal Council's Black Infant Health (BIH) outreach and tracking model was found to be so effective, it was adopted by the California Department of Health Services as a model for all 16 state-funded BIH projects. In 2002, the BIH program was recognized as a model program in Contra Costa County. BIH has been instrumental in helping to cut the East Bay's black infant mortality rate in half.

Since it is important for The Perinatal Council that programs be accessible to clients, offices are placed throughout the two county service area. The Perinatal Council represents a trusted presence in the neighborhoods where clients live, and the proximity makes it possible for staff to anticipate and respond to community needs quickly and effectively.

In 2002, The Perinatal Council was recognized as a national "Champion of Industry" for its leadership in maternal and child health. And because The Perinatal Council is recognized as a premier provider of services to pregnant and parenting teens, they were also selected to be the provider of intensive family support services to Alameda County teen parents and their children through the Every Child Counts initiative.

Over the years, The Perinatal Council has increased its capacity to work with families in need, adding programs to provide peer-to-peer support groups for pregnant and parenting teens and peer support training for African American women and men so that they can become community educators in the areas of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. The Healthy Tomorrows Peer Educator Training Program produced a film with the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, and Filmmaker Aarin Burch, titled "Reflections Unseen", about the lives of eight San Francisco Bay Area HIV positive African American women who provided testimonials of wisdom, courage and faith on their journey of survival and living with HIV and AIDS. The film received the Best Short Documentary Award at the "Through Her Eyes" Women of Color Film Festival in 2011.

Since its inception, The Perinatal Council has opened five satellite offices (Richmond, Bay Point, Pittsburg, Hayward and Antioch) and now operates with a staff of sixty.

The Perinatal Council's tag line - "Always in the interest of the child", sums up the heart of its work: its unwavering commitment to at-risk children in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. To provide the best outcomes for children, the council supports and advocates for those who are responsible for children's care and guidance.

The Perinatal Council will mark the 20th anniversary of its founding on October 7, 2011 through a "Celebrating the Child" open house and reception at its Fruitvale Family Resource & Conference Center, honoring its many board members, donors, staff, and clients, working together to help families and babies grow, learn and succeed.

For more information, please contact Jody Parsons, Communications Coordinator, 510-883-9563, jpans@perina.org.