2011 High Risk Infant Follow-up (HRIF) Fact Sheet

Illinois Department of Human Services
Division of Family & Community Services

Program Description

Target

Any infant eligible for the Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Reporting Systems (APORS) and referred to a Local Health Department or other designated local health agency. High Risk Infant Follow-up serves infants who have any of the following conditions: a serious congenital infection; an endocrine, metabolic or immune disorder; a blood disorder; birth weight less than 1,501 grams; a positive urine toxicology for any drug or signs of drug toxicity or withdrawal; discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit; a congenital anomaly or other conditions, such as intrauterine growth retardation.

Eligibility Criteria

Any infant eligible for the Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Reporting Systems (APORS) and referred to a Local Health Department or other designated local health agency. Eligible conditions include: a serious congenital infection; an endocrine, metabolic or immune disorder; a blood disorder; birth weight less than 1,501 grams; a positive urine toxicology for any drug or signs of drug toxicity or withdrawal; discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit; a congenital anomaly or other conditions, such as intrauterine growth retardation.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to guide public health policy in the reduction of adverse pregnancy outcomes and at the same time to track children who require special services to correct or prevent health problems and handicapping conditions.

Services

Services are delivered to all high risk infants that meet the APORS criteria by a case manager who is a registered nurse. Infants are followed until 24 months of age unless a complete assessment and the professional judgment of the nurse case manager indicate that services are no longer needed.

Delivery Method

This is a statewide program at 112 family case management agencies statewide. This program is a component of Family Case Management and relates to many other programs. The referral is initiated at a hospital, the Division of Epidemiology at IDPH is the reporting and public health nurses provide follow-up services. There is a direct connection between high risk follow-up and numerous programs such as WIC, Primary Care, Early Intervention, Perinatal Follow-up and others depending on the needs of the family.

Program Data

*No grant amount allocated - HRIF is part of FCM.

Program Accomplishments

• The High Risk Infant Follow-up Program provided care to children born with complex medical diagnoses, therefore contributing to the state-wide reduction of the infant morbidity and mortality rates.

• More than 90% of the women and infants active in either WIC or FCM are also enrolled in the other program; women enrolled in WIC during pregnancy gain an appropriate amount of weight, reducing their risk for delivering a low birth weight infant; infants' access to primary health care is improving.