The federal home visiting initiative, the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, started in 2010 as a provision within the Affordable Care Act, provides states with substantial resources for home visiting. Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program Cost-benefit analyses show that high quality home visiting programs offer returns on investment ranging from $1.75 to $5.70 for every dollar spent due to reduced costs of child protection, K-12 special education and grade retention, and criminal justice expenses. Rigorous evaluation of high-quality home visiting programs has also shown positive impact on reducing incidences of child abuse and neglect, improvement in birth outcomes such as decreased pre-term births and low-birthweight babies, improved school readiness for children and increased high school graduation rates for mothers participating in the program. High-quality home visiting programs can improve outcomes for children and families, particularly those that face added challenges such as teen or single parenthood, maternal depression and lack of social and financial supports. This research points to the value of parenting during a child’s early years. The quality of these early experiences shape brain development which impacts future social, cognitive and emotional competence. What Does the Research Say?ĭecades of research in neurobiology underscores the importance of children’s early experiences in laying the foundation for their growing brains. State legislation can also address home visiting as a critical component in states’ comprehensive early childhood systems. Legislators can play an important role in establishing effective home visiting policy in their states through legislation that can ensure that the state is investing in evidence-based home visiting models that demonstrate effectiveness, ensure accountability and address quality improvement measures. Home visitors also conduct regular screenings to help parents identify possible health and developmental issues. Their visits focus on linking pregnant women with prenatal care, promoting strong parent-child attachment, and coaching parents on learning activities that foster their child’s development and supporting parents’ role as their child’s first and most important teacher. Home visitors may be trained nurses, social workers or child development specialists. Participation in these programs is voluntary and families may choose to opt out whenever they want. Across the country, high-quality home visiting programs offer vital support to parents as they deal with the challenges of raising babies and young children. Home visiting is a prevention strategy used to support pregnant moms and new parents to promote infant and child health, foster educational development and school readiness, and help prevent child abuse and neglect. Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety.Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce.
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Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee.