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History

In this new era as Changent, we are working to improve health outcomes with data-driven programs that serve even more families in need with a broader continuum of care. With two programs under the Changent umbrella, we’re improving access to the supports and services that we know result in better outcomes for multiple generations and helping communities to thrive well into the future. 

How we got here

  • 1977: David Olds, PhD develops and launches the first, of three, randomized controlled trials of the Nurse-Family Partnership model in Elmira, NY
  • 1987: A randomized controlled trial of Nurse-Family Partnership begins in Memphis, TN
  • 1994: A randomized controlled trial of Nurse-Family Partnership begins in Denver, CO
  • 1996: The replication of the Nurse-Family Partnership model begins
  • 2001: Darcy Lowell, MD develops the Child First model and begins implementation of the first site at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, CT
  • 2003: Nurse-Family Partnership incorporates and establishes the National Service Office, a 501(c)(3) based in Denver, CO, to oversee implementation and expansion of Nurse-Family Partnership
  • 2003: A randomized controlled trial of Child First begins with a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to evaluate overall program effectiveness
  • 2010: The replication of Child First begins in Connecticut
  • 2013: Child First is established as an independent 501(c)(3)
  • 2014: The national expansion of the Child First model begins, expanding first into Florida and North Carolina
  • 2020: Child First and Nurse-Family Partnership merge, with the expanded National Service Office serving as the central operational umbrella overseeing both programs
  • 2021: The integration of the Child First and Nurse-Family Partnership teams and operations within the National Service Office continues
  • 2025: The National Service Office rebrands as Changent and becomes the hub for over 65 years of proven experience and results with Child First and Nurse-Family Partnership

Building on the decades of experience of our programs, our organization has grown steadily, always with health equity at the center of our work. This has not changed, but we have become even more focused on our mission, more integrated with the community partners whose expertise we rely on to deliver our programs, and ever more devoted to ensuring that families and children who need our services have them. Together, we are doing this work to impact the next era of community health.

Our Founders

Changent continues to work closely with the founders of Child First and Nurse-Family Partnership, who serve as advisors and collaborators on the research and implementation of each program. Through our work, we honor each founder's legacy and vision for a better, more equitable future for children and families.

Darcy Lowell, MD

Dr. Darcy Lowell is the Founder and Senior Advisor to the Child First model. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at Yale University School of Medicine and a developmental & behavioral pediatrician.

In 2001, Dr. Lowell began Child First, an evidence-based, relationship-focused, two-generation, home visiting approach that partners with families, infants, and young children from pregnancy through age 5, to enhance strong, loving relationships. Child First aims to support caregivers and their children by processing the stresses and traumas in their lives and enhancing healthy patterns of interactions between caregiver and child, through a combination of psychotherapeutic intervention, intensive care coordination, and improving executive functioning.​

Dr. Lowell has been directly involved with program innovation, clinical research, child advocacy, and system change at the local, state, and national levels.​ Her contributions to the field of early childhood mental health and development of the Child First model have left a lasting impact on children and their families.

David Olds, PhD, DSc

David Olds, PhD, DSc is the Founder of Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado, where he is a primary investigator in the Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health. He has developed and tested the Nurse-Family Partnership model in three randomized control trials, beginning in the 1970’s, with different populations and with decades of longitudinal follow-up. NFP is designed to improve pregnancy outcomes, children’s health and development, and women’s health and life-course. NFP meets the “Top Tier” of evidence established by Evidence-Based Programs and is acclaimed for its prevention of child maltreatment. Today, NFP serves over 55,000 families per year in the United States and 18,000 per year in seven other countries.

Dr. Olds has received numerous awards for his work, including the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health, the Stockholm Prize in Criminology, and honorary membership in Sigma theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing, and most recently, received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the McMaster University School of Nursing in Ontario, Canada.