The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration announced that EveryStep, a Des Moines nonprofit care services agency, has been awarded nearly $5 million in grant funding over the next five years to serve Iowa families in need. The funds, awarded through the HRSA’s Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health, will allow EveryStep to continue to provide services through the Des Moines Healthy Start Project. “We are thrilled to have been selected to receive these grant funds that will sustain evidence-based programming that strengthens our communities through empowering vulnerable women and their children who need access to quality care,” said Tray Wade, president and CEO of EveryStep. Since 1997, pregnant women and families with children under the age of 2 who reside in a seven-ZIP-code area have been eligible for Healthy Start services, with a focus on reducing disparities in infant mortality, preterm births and low birth weight rates. Services provided by multilingual case managers and outreach workers include home visitation, parent education, links to mental health, support and parenting groups, resource and referral services and health education.