Children at risk of abuse and those with chronic health problems will get home visits from the same agency, now that two Richmond nonprofits have combined their efforts.
CHIP of Greater Richmond and Family Lifeline have merged under the Family Lifeline name to continue child-abuse prevention and health services for eligible families in the Richmond area.
Family Lifeline, formed in 1877, helps families prevent abuse at crucial stress points, such as the birth of a baby, and also helps with elder-care issues.
CHIP, which stands for Children's Health Involving Parents, began in 1992 to help low-income families manage health problems such as asthma in young children.
They began working together in 2004 and sharing a finance director in 2008.
"That relationship worked really well," said Amy Strite, formerly chief executive officer of CHIP and now chief operating officer of Family Lifeline. "We started to share other back-office expenses."
"The more we worked together," said Grace Sparks, Family Lifeline CEO, "the more we realized that the programs were similar in some ways. Both are home-intensive, working with families and children. They are also different enough."
Executive offices will remain at 2325 W. Broad St. The CHIP office at 2922 W. Marshall St. will be a program site. The annual budget is about $4 million, Sparks said. All 40 full-time employees keep their jobs.
Both programs are part of the Smart Beginnings effort to make sure that all children enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Jeff Cribbs, president and CEO of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, said the merger combines two strong, healthy nonprofits.
"I believe both organizations, now one, will be better equipped to serve the families that individually they have been committed to serving over a long period of time," Cribbs said.
"There are economies of scale, and also the strength of a complementary mission.
"As a foundation that works in the community, we frequently have conversations encouraging collaboration among partners. This is an example of someone who's taken that encouragement to heart and done it in a thoughtful way. Collaboration doesn't always mean merger. In this case it did."
kcalos@timesdispatch.com
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