Public Health Pediatrics upSTART Community Programs
upSTART: transforming lives across Greater Houston
Texas Children’s and our teaching partner Baylor College of Medicine not only improve the lives of children within our hospital walls – our community-focused and evidence-based upSTART programs support expectant parents and families with young children with accessible early childhood education and intervention. The mission of upSTART programs is for all families with young children in the Greater Houston area have access to the knowledge, tools, services and resources needed for their children to thrive.
A dedicated team of experts ensures families feel supported and empowered every step of the way with our life-changing initiatives that promote strong parent-child connections and well-being:
- Children’s early brain and language development (upWORDS, upWORDS2, upWORDS Bridges)
- Perinatal maternal mental health (upLIFT, upLIFT Group)
- Social supports (Family Workshops, Community Connections)
- Improved health and wellness of mothers and children (upREACH+)
By the Numbers
3,300+ families served since 2016
14% of families have participated in 2 or more programs
3,750 referrals to community programs
Our Programs
All of our upSTART programs are generously funded by grants and foundation support. Thank you to our generous funders who allow us to make an impact in our community!
upWORDS began in 2016 and has served over 2,800 children in 238 zip codes from 45 counties. It is a group-based, early language development program for families with children from birth to 36 months. The program consists of 16 one-hour sessions over four months that teach caregivers how to improve their child’s early language skills. Participants receive:
- 16 free books
- A language developmental snapshot of their child’s skills
- A weekly report detailing the amount of conversational turn-taking between an adult and the child and the number of adult words the child hears in a block of time
- Video coaching on parent-child interactions
To enroll in a class or to learn more, visit the upWORDS page.
“We learned how to read with our baby. So happy we joined! This was such a supportive place to be.”
“The research highlighted the importance of connecting with my baby.”
“This program helped me to learn to be intentional and conscious with my baby.”
“We have bonded so much and this has been life changing.”
upWORDS2 is offered to parents who have participated in upWORDS. It is a 10-session program combining group and individual sessions for parents and caregivers of young children. It focuses on early brain development, socio-emotional growth, positive parenting, self-regulation, and effective behavior management strategies. upWORDS2 has served over 400 families.
“I was using a lot of threatening tactics to get my children to cooperate, but I realize now I can encourage cooperation in positive ways by using verbal praise and attention.”
“Setting up expectations for my children has made a big difference. Now I tell them what we are about to do instead of just telling them with no explanation.”
“I am more conscious. Especially with my older daughter, every time I want to explode, I take a deep breath. I am able to calm myself down before I speak to her. I realize that I wasn't being the best model for her. I am often her trigger.”
“I am more patient. I learned to listen more instead of react. I have worked on using clear and calm instructions to encourage cooperation.”
upWORDS Bridges is offered to upWORDS families have completed upWORDS and express concerns about a language or developmental delay. Our bilingual speech language pathologist provides further screening for speech and developmental concerns and supports families with individualized recommendations and navigation to services. Bridges has served over 250 of children.
“Without your help, I feel like my son would still be behind in his language development.”
"I appreciate you explaining these things (prompts, cueing). I feel like we have turned a corner and that he is finally hitting milestones he was supposed to be doing 6 months ago."
"I am less stressed. I am watching him consistently imitate new words and sounds."
"I feel comforted by the recommendations you have given us since we have been putting off intervention."
upLIFT is a home visitation program for women experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy and in the year after giving birth. A licensed social worker meets with the participant in her home or virtually and provides up to eight sessions to support her in learning new tools and strategies to help ease symptoms of depression and anxiety. upLIFT has served nearly 300 mothers.
“When my anxiety creeps up on me, I can say, ‘No, no. I know how to handle you now. I don’t need you to take over my whole day, or week or month.’ The fact that I haven’t really felt depressed is good. This has helped me a lot.”
“It has helped me build my relationship with my family and it has made me feel good as a mother! I am a better mother because of it “
“The program helped me to stop thinking so negatively and looking at things better. Now I also understand that is not just the kids and that I also have to take care of myself – loving myself as a woman first and then a mother.”
“The upLIFT program is by far the best program that I've participated in for my depression. It helped me find new ways to bond with my babies and learn different ways to handle my depression as a whole. The people I've worked with/ talked to are super nice. If I had to give a rating it would be 1,000 out of 10.”
upLIFT Group is the newest addition to our programs. It is a supportive, group-based program for expecting mothers and women with young children experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants attend up to 11 weekly virtual group sessions facilitated by a licensed social worker to connect with other mothers and learn strategies for coping with the challenges of parenting with depression/anxiety. upLIFT group has reached over 40 mothers.
“Weekly sessions were the highlight of my week, all our ladies were amazing.”
“Great program, well structured, the facilitators were very knowledgeable and committed.”
“I received very practical advice for everyday life. As a mother who suffers from depression, this group has been a great escape from my routine and a help since I really don't like to talk to friends about it because I feel judged or I don't feel like talking about my personal problems with anyone.”
upREACH+ is a short-term perinatal home visitation program to help families prepare to bring their newborn home and to support maternal health and well-being during pregnancy and the early postpartum period. In this program, a nurse and a community health worker team meet with the family in the home and/or virtually to provide support, resources and connections to community resources to promote family well-being.
This program is currently being offered to patients at Ben Taub Hospital who receive care in the High-Risk Obstetrics Clinic, lacked prenatal care or develop high-risk conditions such as hypertension around the time of delivery.
More than 200 families have utilized upREACH+.
For more information, please contact us at upreachplus@bcm.edu or 346-453-9523.
“I learned a lot about what I had to prepare myself to go through with my own pregnancy.”
“I was really worried about my diabetes. In the beginning, my pregnancy was rough, and the education helped me so much as a first-time mother. I felt like I was getting prepared correctly.”
“When I first started this upREACH+ program, my family was struggling a lot with finding work and the CHW connected me with WIC … the benefits have helped me so much.”
Community Connections is available to all upSTART participants. It provides tailored support and connections to community resources for families with identified basic needs. We made more than 3,750 referrals.
“What has been the most helpful thing about the services is being able to be connected to the government early education services. My child is now awaiting being accepted to receive speech therapy services through the government.”
“I am very grateful for having been on the program, for the advice you gave me, the guidance as well as the resources provided for me and my baby.”
Family Workshops: upSTART facilitates workshops and educational events in English and Spanish for families to increase skills and knowledge and engage with other families to promote increased social support. These events are open to any family. In 2024, we had 230 caregivers attend our workshops.
“This information is very good, it is helping me a lot with my children.”
“This was great! I love that the presentation had a lot of visuals and easy to follow tips. I also like that the presenter demonstrated how to address small children.”
