Act now to protect the federal home visiting program set to soon expire

The federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program is set to expire on Sept. 30. Congress must act to ensure that families continue to receive these essential home visiting services which support positive parenting, improve maternal and child health, and promote child development and school readiness.  

The MIECHV program aims to improve maternal and child health outcomes and family well-being with proven services that “meet families where they are.” Home visitors develop strong, trusting relationships with the families they work with through regular home visits. During these visits, these trained professionals provide information, referrals, and address the family’s needs. The MIECHV program funds states, territories, and tribal entities to develop home visiting programs. Multiple evidence-based home visiting models are eligible for MIECHV funding. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, through its support of Colorado’s Home Visiting Program, the MIECHV program reached almost 2,000 families –with a total of 24,778 home visits conducted across the state.  

As the program’s expiration date quickly approaches in September, the national Home Visiting Coalition is urging Congress to pass a bipartisan reauthorization bill to both continue the program and expand its reach with three critical priorities: 

1. Increase MIECHV funding by $200 million annually, to serve more families and support the home visiting workforce over the next five years.  
2. Double the tribal set-aside from 3% to 6% to serve more families in tribal communities.  
3. Continue to allow virtual home visiting as an approved option for service delivery.  

Contact your Congress members today and urge them to support the passage of the MIECHV Reauthorization bill. The Colorado Home Visiting Coalition has put together a social media toolkit for community members to spread the word about the reauthorization. Learn more about MIECHV and how Congress can support it at the Home Visiting Coalition’s website. 

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About Children's Campaign

The Colorado Children’s Campaign is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization committed since 1985 to realizing every chance for every child in Colorado. We advocate for the development and implementation of data-driven public policies that improve child wellbeing in health, education and early childhood. We do this by providing Coloradans with trusted data and research on child wellbeing and organizing an extensive state-wide network of dedicated child advocates. For more information, please visit www.coloradokids.org.