The city-supported Baby University will be upgraded to Family Forward with expanded services, city officials said on Tuesday.
Mayor Tim Kelly said said some community centers will become "the front door" for the program that is operated by Signal Centers. Centers involved will include Southside, Avondale, East Lake and Brainerd.
The program already operates with a program for pregnant students at Howard and Brainerd high schools.
Donna McConnico, Signal Centers CEO, said services include prenatal care, constant measurement of the progress of each child, and service interventions.
There will be a fatherhood initiative and car seat events.
She said none of the families involved in the program have gone homeless and that the graduation rate is 93 percent.
The program gave out over 100,000 diapers last year.
"We're here for them at the most critical time - after a baby is born," Ms. McConnico said.
Family Forward was described as "a city of Chattanooga early-childhood initiative focused on helping to strengthen families and communities."
Officials said, "The realignment of this program will better support Mayor Kelly’s One Chattanooga plan, as well as his administration’s re-envisioning of Community Centers, expanding neighborhood-level access to Family Forward within those communities that are most in need."
Family Forward began in 2015 (as Baby University) to serve both expectant and new parents in Chattanooga’s lowest-income areas. Its home-visitation program supports healthy pregnancies, child health and development, and helps pregnant high-school students to graduate and matriculate on to post-secondary education. Family Forward’s intensive case-management approach assists new parents with being prepared for every aspect of family life including housing, healthcare, school readiness, jobs, car seats, and more, officials said.