The Starting Well Demonstration Project, one of four schemes set up and funded by the Executive to improve health in Scotland, provides community-based services and intensive home-based support from health visitors and community nursery nurses.
The money will support Starting Well until the end of March 2006, covering the whole of Glasgow city.
An independent evaluation of Starting Well Phase One found it had successfully supported more than 1,800 families.
Usually, new mothers receive a minimum of six contacts over five years from a health visiting service. Under the Starting Well scheme, mothers were offered 34 contacts over the first three years of their child's life.
Families are offered advice on a range of issues, including debt and employment, respite childcare and baby massage. Support is also provided through the Positive Parenting Programme, a strategy developed in Australia. Triple P, as it is known, aims to prevent behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by improving parents' knowledge, skills and confidence.
The evaluation found that Starting Well had a number of benefits for both parents and children. After six months of taking part, mothers showed significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms. The quality of home environments improved and parents felt better equipped to look after their children. An increase in the number of children registered with dentists was also recorded.
Dr Michael Killoran Ross, project manager for Starting Well in NHS Greater Glasgow, said, 'Phase One was a universal intervention that targeted all families within the two areas. Phase Two will directly target vulnerable children.
'We will establish multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams that will provide support to the most disadvantaged families in our communities. The project will provide valuable national lessons in intensive family support.'
Starting Well was established in 2000 with 3m from the Scottish Executive and implemented in two of Glasgow's most disadvantaged areas, Great Easterhouse and the Gorbals, Govanhill and North Toryglen.
More information on the project is available at www.startingwell.co.uk.