Social Services
Social service resources for you, your patients, and clients. Sections include information on case management, transportation assistance, daycare services, substance abuse, domestic violence, and sexual violence prevention.
Resources for Your Patients
Louisiana Medicaid recipients with Healthy Louisiana plans (formerly known as Bayou Health) are eligible to receive transportation to scheduled medical appointments. Patients can call their health insurer to arrange transportation:
- Aetna: 1-877-917-4150
- Amerigroup: 1-866-430-1101
- AmeriHealth Caritas: 1-888-913-0364
- Louisiana Healthcare Connections: 1-855-369-3723
- United Healthcare: 1-866-726-1472
The Bureau of Family Health’s Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program helps eligible families achieve optimal health and well-being. The program is comprised of two evidence-based models: Nurse-Family Partnership and Parents as Teachers.
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) provides home visiting services to Medicaid eligible first-time mothers and their families. Visits begin in the first or second trimester of pregnancy, and continue until a mother’s child turns 2 years old. Nurses provide education, support and guidance to help women have a healthy pregnancy and care for their baby.
Who is eligible?
- First-time mothers*
- Must enroll before 29 weeks of pregnancy. Early enrollment encouraged, preferably at or before 16 weeks
- Must live in the parish where NFP services are received
- Must be eligible for one or more of the following: Medicaid, WIC, SNAP, TANF, or SSI
*Women may be allowed to enter the program under special circumstances, such as a woman who has lost a child, surrendered her child to adoption or lost custody of the child within first 30 days after delivery.
How to sign-up:
Contact a nurse directly: Patients may call or e-mail a nurse listed for their Parish in the table below.
OPH Region | Eligible Parishes | Supervisor Contact Info |
Region 1 | Jefferson Orleans Plaquemines St. Bernard |
Katherine Autry 504-599-0263 Katherine.Autry@la.gov |
Region 2 | Ascension East Baton Rouge East Feliciana Iberville Pointe Coupee West Baton Rouge West Feliciana |
Connie Price 225-242-4865 Connie.Price@la.gov |
Region 3 | Assumption Lafourche St. Charles St. James St. John St. Mary Terrebonne |
Jeanne Foret 985-857-3601 ext. 135 Jeanne.Foret@la.gov |
Region 4 | Acadia Evangeline Iberia Lafayette St. Landry St. Martin Vermillion |
Barbara Miller 337-262-1772 Barbara.Miller2@la.gov Angela Vidrine 337-457-4040 Angela.Vidrine@la.gov |
Region 5 | Allen Beauregard Calcasieu Cameron Jeff Davis |
Sheila Schuetz 337-478-6020 ext. 6049 Sheila.Schuetz@la.gov |
Region 6 | Avoyelles Catahoula Concordia Grant LaSalle Rapides Vernon Winn |
Susan Babineaux 318-487-5361 Susan.Babineaux@la.gov Jennifer Sharp 318-339-8352 Jennifer.Sharp@la.gov |
Region 7 | Bienville Bossier Caddo Claiborne DeSoto Natchitoches Red River Sabine Webster |
Kathy Carter 318-357-3133 Kathy.Carter@la.gov Wendi Barnette 318-212-0177 wbarne@lsuhsc.edu Barbara Rogers 318-862-9933 broge1@lsuhsc.edu |
Region 8 | Franklin Jackson Lincoln Morehouse Ouachita Richland |
Paula Watts 318-361-7215 Paula.Watts@la.gov |
Region 9 | Livingston St. Helena St. Tammany Tangipahoa Washington |
Alison Blades 985-705-5029 Alison.Blades@la.gov Courtney Anderson 985-520-5440 Courtney.Anderson@la.gov |
Parents as Teachers (PAT)
Parents as Teachers (PAT) provides home visitation services to pregnant women and families. Parent educators work with families to improve parenting practices, provide early detection or developmental delays and health issues, and increase school readiness and success.
For enrolled clients, parent educators incorporate personal visits in the home, group meetings for PAT-enrolled parents, health and developmental screenings for PAT-enrolled children, and a resource network to help PAT-enrolled families reach their goals and address their needs.
Who is eligible?
- Pregnant women OR parenting families with children less than 24 months of age.
- Priority given to Nurse-Family Partnership graduates and families with children 12 months or younger, with preference provided for families with children 4 months or younger.
- Must live in the parish where PAT services are received
- Must be eligible for one or more of the following: Medicaid, WIC, SNAP, TANF or SSI.
How to sign-up:
Contact a parent educator directly: Call or email the parent educator listed for your parish in the table. You can call even if you just want more information about the program.
OPH Region | Eligible Parishes | Supervisor Contact Info |
Region 1 *Starting Dec. 2017 |
Jefferson Orleans Plaquemines St. Bernard |
Rochelle Humpreys 504-568-5776 Rochelle.Humphreys@la.gov |
Region 7 | Caddo Bossier Webster Claiborne Bienville Red River Natchitoches |
Hannah Williams, 318-676-5022 Hannah.Williams@la.gov |
Region 8 | Caldwell East Carroll Franklin Madison Ouachita Morehouse Richland Tensas Union West Carroll |
Teresa Burket 318-728-4441 Teresa.Burket@la.gov Amanda Rawson 318-330-7726 Amanda.Rawson@la.gov |
Healthy Start
Healthy Start is a case management program that helps pregnant women find the medical and social services they may need. Healthy Start offers:
- Case management
- Classes
- Transportation
- Baby items
- Referrals
Healthy Start contact information, by region:
- New Orleans Area: 504-658-2600
- Baton Rouge Area: 225-201-8888
- Jefferson Parish (Crescent City PIC): 504-247-0592
- Lafayette Area: 337-981-2180
Help Patients Find Daycare Services
- Licensed Daycare Facilities – A list of licensed daycare facilities searchable by Parish
Financial Assistance for Daycare Services
- The Child Care Assistance Program helps low-income families pay for childcare while the parents working or attending school or training. Monthly payments are based on the number of hours the parents work or attend school or training, as well as the amount charged by the childcare provider, family size and household income.
Smoking Cessation Resources for your Patients
Quit With Us, Louisiana! and 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) support your patients through the quitting process. Patients can call the Quitline anytime, 24/7. Services are free and confidential.
- Helps healthcare providers provide an easy and seamless counseling component to patients who are ready to quit using tobacco.
- To become a certified Fax-To-Quit provider, complete the training module and a short quiz.
Quit4baby is a FREE new tool to help pregnant women in Louisiana quit smoking through Text4baby.
- Quit4baby sends personalized text messages, centered around her quit date, with smoking cessation education, tips to avoid cravings, relapse support, and more.
- Once a woman enrolls into Text4baby, she will receive a text message asking if she smokes. If she replies “yes,” then she will receive information about enrolling into Quit4baby and will be sent a link to a mobile webpage where she can easily sign up.
Freedom From Smoking Online (FFS Online) is a program that prepares your patients to quit and helps them quit smoking.
American Lung Association informs your patient about which smoking cessation products and services (like the patch, gum, or counseling) may be covered by their health insurance (including Medicaid).
Smoking Cessation Resources for Providers
- Information for Health Care Providers and Public Health Professionals: Preventing Tobacco Use During Pregnancy (CDC) provides talking points and data to help you help your pregnant patients quit smoking.
Substance Abuse Resources for your Patients
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) can help your patients find a drug and alcoholism treatment program nearby based on a starting point, including city, street, and/or zip code.
- Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinics is an alphabetical listing of substance abuse clinics.
- Addictive Disorders Services is a list describing the types of treatment programs in Louisiana (like detox, inpatient, community-based, and treatment for women with dependent children).
Substance Abuse Screening Tool for Providers
LaHART: The Louisiana Health Assessment Referral and Treatment web-based prenatal behavioral health screening tool streamlines the screening and referral process for pregnant Medicaid-eligible women in need of treatment for substance abuse during pregnancy.
- LaHART screens for tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse, as well as domestic violence.
- State providers are reimbursed approximately $50 for conducting prenatal behavioral health screening and brief intervention.
- To find out more about LaHART, call (504) 568-3504.
Louisiana Hotlines & Resources for your Patients
The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) is a statewide coalition of shelters, non-residential programs and individuals working to end domestic violence in Louisiana.
- LADCV 24/7 anonymous, confidential hotline: (888) 411-1333
New Orleans Area Crisis Lines & Resources
Metropolitan Battered Women’s Program provides a crisis line, counseling, and shelter to women in the New Orleans Metro.
- Call (504) 837-5400
Crescent House Healing and Empowerment Center protects victims of domestic violence and their children.
- Call (504) 866-9554
National Hotlines & Resources
- Call (800) 799-SAFE (7233) or (800) 787-3224 (TTY) for anonymous help for victims of domestic violence.
- The Hotline is a website that provides information and resources about domestic violence, abuse, and sexual assault.
Louisiana Safe Haven Program
If your patient is not ready to take care of a newborn baby, Louisiana’s Safe Haven Law offers them a safe, legal option. Parents who are unable to care for their baby can bring a baby less than 60-days old to an emergency designated facility, or Safe Haven. By leaving the baby in the care of an employee at a Safe Haven facility, parents can give up custody of a baby with no questions asked.
- Information Helpline: 1-800-CHILDREN (244-5473)
For Providers:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information on critical needs in caring for pregnant women during times of disaster for non-obstetric healthcare providers.
For Your Patients:
- Get a Game Plan offers families information about assembling emergency kits, creating disaster plans and more resources to stay informed about disasters.
- Click Evacuation Information for details about contraflow maps, shelters, and checkpoint information.
- March of Dimes provides information on preparing for an environmental disaster while pregnant.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information on creating a plan to help navigate families through disasters.
Louisiana Resource for Sexual Assault
- Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LaFASA) has a list of sexual assault centers, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and crisis lines in Louisiana.
- Call (888) 995-7273 for more information.
National Hotline for Sexual Assault
- Sexual Assault Hotline (800) 656-HOPE (4673)
- The Hotline (National Domestic Violence Hotline) provides confidential and anonymous crisis intervention, information, referrals and resources to victims of domestic violence, perpetrators, friends and families.
- The Hotline is open 24 hours/day.
- The Hotline is also a resource for the general public, lawmakers, and media.
- Call (800) 799-SAFE (7233).
1-800-251-BABY (2229)
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