Title

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting: A Call for a Paradigm Shift in States’ Approaches to Funding

Date

2019

Author(s)

Eileen M. Condon

Brief Type

Journal Publication

Model(s)

  • Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC)
  • Child First
  • Early Head Start Home-Based Option
  • Early Intervention Program for Adolescent Mothers
  • Early Start (New Zealand)
  • Family Check-Up (FCU)
  • Family Connects
  • Healthy Beginnings
  • Healthy Families America (HFA)
  • Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-Visiting (MECSH)
  • Minding the Baby
  • Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)
  • Parents as Teachers (PAT)
  • Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) Infant
  • SafeCare/SafeCare Augmented

Description

Early home visiting is a vital health promotion strategy that is widely associated with positive outcomes for vulnerable families. To expand access to these services, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program was established under the Affordable Care Act, and over $2 billion have been distributed from the Health Resources and Services Administration to states, territories, and tribal entities to support funding for early home visiting programs serving pregnant women and families with young children (birth to 5 years of age). As of October 2018, 20 programs met Department of Health and Human Services criteria for evidence of effectiveness and were approved to receive MIECHV funding. However, the same few eligible programs receive MIECHV funding in almost all states, likely due to previously established infrastructure prior to establishment of the MIECHV program. Fully capitalizing on this federal investment will require all state policymakers and bureaucrats to reevaluate services currently offered and systematically and transparently develop a menu of home visiting services that will best match the specific needs of the vulnerable families in their communities. Federal incentives and strategies may also improve states’ abilities to successfully implement a comprehensive and diverse menu of home visiting service options. By offering a menu of home visiting program models with varying levels of service delivery, home visitor education backgrounds, and targeted domains for improvement, state agencies serving children and families have an opportunity to expand their reach of services, improve cost-effectiveness, and promote optimal outcomes for vulnerable families. Nurses and nursing organizations can play a key role in advocating for this approach. (author abstract)

Data Collection Methods

Status

Finished

For More Information

Condon, E. M. (2019). Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting: A call for a paradigm shift in states’ approaches to funding. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1527154419829439
Author Contact Information:
Eileen M. Condon
Eileen.Condon@Yale.edu

Topics

  • Collaboration and Coordination
  • Cost
  • Participant Characteristics
  • Participant, Family, and Program Outcomes