Our History

Mother-Wise started in 2010 as a great idea from a group of local advocates called the Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health (MCAH) Advisory Board. This Advisory Board reports to the Lake County Board of Supervisors on the quality of services in Lake County and proposes improvements on behalf of mothers and their children.

Several members of MCAH recognized a missing link in Lake County’s available services in the area of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD). They organized a committee to develop a strategy for reducing the prevalence and potential harm of untreated PMAD in Lake County. PMADs are incredibly prevalent and often-times are un-diagnosed, leaving mothers to feel alone in their journey. Further, the MCAH Advisory Board knew that the quality and timing of maternal bonding is essential to the health of the baby as well as the mother. Interruptions in the bonding process can threaten the baby’s development as well as the mental health of mama.

After 18 months of planning for Mother-Wise, the MCAH Advisory Board hired a Program Director, then part-time independent contractors, including group facilitators and early childhood education specialists, to meet the growing needs of the program.

The program found its legs in 2010 with the support of the Lake County Behavioral Health Department in the form of a Proposition 63 grant. Californians had passed Prop 63, The Mental Health Services Act, in 2004. This bill increased the tax on any Californian’s annual income over $1,000,000 by one percent. Over the next ten years, that tax produced $7.4 billion which went into a fund to transform California’s mental health landscape. Californians had made a smart move and Mother-Wise is one of the results.