News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2011
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Contact: HRSA Press Office
(301) 443-3376
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HHS announces $224 million to support evidence-based home visiting programs to help parents and children
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius today announced $224 million to help at-risk families
voluntarily receive home visits from nurses and social workers to
improve maternal and child health, child development, school readiness,
economic self-sufficiency, and child abuse prevention. As part of the
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program,
these grants are funded by the Affordable Care Act and are awarded to
state agencies that applied for the grants in 49 states across the
country.
“Home visiting programs play a critical role in the
nation’s efforts to help children get off to a strong start. Parenting
is a tough job, and helping parents succeed pays big dividends in a
child’s well-being and healthy development,” said HHS Secretary
Sebelius.
Both the formula and competitive grants awarded today
will be used by state agencies to support home visiting programs that
bring nurses, social workers, or other health care professionals to meet
with at-risk families that agree to meet with them in their homes.
They work with families to evaluate their circumstances, help parents
gain the skills they need to succeed in promoting healthy development in
their children, and connect families to the kinds of help that can make
a real difference in a child’s health, development, and ability to
learn.
Research has shown that home visiting programs can improve
outcomes for children and families, including improving maternal and
child health, reducing child maltreatment, increasing parental
employment, and improving the rate at which children reach developmental
milestones. HHS undertook an exhaustive review of the research evidence
on different home visiting programs to identify the models that have
been shown to work.
“These investments will go a long way toward
keeping our kids healthy and building robust early childhood systems
across the country,” said Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., administrator,
Health Resources and Services Administration.
Under the MIECHV
program, states must use at least three-quarters of the funding provided
to implement one or more of these evidence-based programs. The program
also supports continued innovation by allowing up to 25 percent of
funding to carry out and evaluate promising new approaches. Formula
grant awards totaling $124 million were awarded to 55 eligible agencies
including 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the
Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and America Samoa.
A
total of $100 million in competitive funding was awarded to those
states that have sufficiently demonstrated the interest and capacity to
expand and/or to enhance the development of their home visiting efforts.
- Expansion Grants:
Approximately $66 million was awarded to nine states and jurisdictions
that have already made significant progress towards implementing a
high-quality home visiting program as part of a comprehensive, early
childhood system. These states will serve as models to the rest of the
nation on how to build a robust home visiting program integrated into
other efforts designed to ensure that children get off to a good start.
- Development Grants:
Approximately $34 million was awarded to 13 states and jurisdictions
that currently have modest home visiting programs and want to build on
existing efforts. States that successfully complete development grants
can compete for future expansion grants.
Reflecting the
multi-faceted nature of successful home visiting programs, HHS’
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) collaborates with HRSA on
the implementation of the MIECHV program. Taken together, the two
agencies bring expertise in early learning and development, the
prevention and identification of child maltreatment, the improvement of
maternal and child health outcomes, and family engagement.
“Helping
children and families thrive requires a multi-faceted approach and home
visiting is a critical component that can strengthen families and put
children on solid footing.” said George Sheldon, acting assistant
secretary of the Administration for Children and Families.
The
program is part of the Obama Administration’s strong commitment to
invest in what works, including evidence-based approaches to improve
outcomes for American’s most vulnerable children and families.
Lists of grant awardees are available at: http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2011tables/110922homevisiting.html
For more information on HRSA’s MIECHV program, please visit mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisiting/.
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, visit www.HealthCare.gov.
The
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency
for improving access to health care services for people who are
uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about
HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.
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Last revised: September 22, 2011
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