State Activities

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, and in particular the Division of Family Health Services, is concerned that the rate of black infant mortality is more than double the rate for white infants. In 1996, the Department established a Blue Ribbon Panel on Black Infant Mortality Reduction that was charged with developing strategies to more effectively use State resources to reduce black infant mortality rates. The Panel issued their report in September of 1997 and in 1998 the Department convened a Black Infant Mortality Reduction Advisory Council to assist in the implementation of strategies to address this most critical issue. The Advisory Council focused their deliberations on three areas:

Education and awareness
Cultural competency

In May of 1999, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services launched a 2-year, $1 million public awareness campaign - Black Infants Better Survival (BIBS) - making New Jersey the first state in the nation to spearhead a major communications effort targeted at black infant mortality.

While the first goal of the campaign was to raise awareness, it also included a critical public health component - helping black women of child-bearing age and their infants receive the health care they need - before, during and after delivery.

Campaign Chronicle In June 2001, the second anniversary of the BIBS campaign to reduce black infant mortality was marked by a special conference of those involved with the campaign from its inception and by publication of the BIBS Campaign Chronicle (PDF 1.2mb). The Chronicle contains a complete history of efforts by the Department of Health and Senior Services and other interested parties to address the issue of black infant mortality: a chronology of events beginning in 1994, activities leading up to and stemming from the campaign, advertising and public relations strategies, public relations events, media placement, community education, the Black Infant Mortality Reduction Resource Center, BIBS partnership grants, and reproductions of advertisements and articles about the BIBS campaign in statewide and national media.

The DHSS/Reproductive Perinatal Health Services has issued health service grants to 6 agencies to support black infant mortality activities. These activities support promotion of health care provider’s awareness of the disparity in black and white infant mortality rates and comprehensive health care services staffed with culturally sensitive providers.