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Maternal,
Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program
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Overview
A provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted earlier this year
authorizes the creation of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home
Visiting Program, in response to the diverse needs of children and
families in communities at risk. This program provides an opportunity to
improve the health and development outcomes for at-risk children through
evidence-based home visiting programs.
The program funds, available for
fiscal years 2010 – 2014, are intended to assure effective
coordination and delivery of critical health, development, early
learning, child abuse and neglect prevention, and family support services
to these children and families through home visiting programs.
Most states have some type of home
visiting programs in place already, either in various communities
throughout the state or statewide. This new program will play a crucial
role in the national effort to build quality, comprehensive statewide
early childhood systems for pregnant women, parents and caregivers, and
children from birth to 8 years of age and, ultimately, to improve health
and development outcomes.
The ACA Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting Program is designed to:
- strengthen and improve the programs and activities
carried out under Title V
- improve coordination of services for at-risk
communities
- identify and provide comprehensive services to improve
outcomes for families who reside in at risk communities
At-risk communities will be
identified through a statewide assessment of needs and of existing
resources to meet those needs. HRSA and the Administration for Children
and Families (ACF) intend that the home visiting program will result in a
coordinated system of early childhood home visiting in every state that
has the capacity and commitment to provide infrastructure and supports to
assure high-quality, evidence-based practice.
Timeline
On June 10, 2010 HRSA and the Administration on Children and
Families released the first Funding
Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Maternal, Infant, and
Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. FY 2010 funding will be $90
million in total, awarded to states and eligible territories. This FOA is
the first of 3 to complete the Home Visiting FY 2010 application process,
which will therefore occur in 3 steps:
- June 10, 2010 FOA – Due July 9, 2010:
States must submit an application for FY 2010 funding under this
first FOA by July 9, 2010. The FOA provides states with instructions
regarding assessing the availability of data for completing the
needs assessment, identification of data needs, and specifying how
the state will conduct the needs assessment.
- Late June 2010 FOA – Due September 1, 2010: This
second FOA will provide full specifications for conducting a
collaborative needs assessment in your state, including templates
and instructions for reporting required information. This needs
assessment will be due September 1, 2010.
- Mid-August 2010 FOA – Due Early FY 2011: This
third FOA will provide instructions for states to submit an Updated
State Plan for responding to the results of the state needs
assessment, to include reporting requirements and criteria of
evidence of effectiveness.
Prior to the issuance of the third
FOA, HHS will provide an opportunity for public comment on proposed
criteria for assessing evidence of effectiveness of home visiting program
models. FY 2010 funds will be allocated by a formula outlined in the FOA.
State Oversight
Governors have the authority to designate which entity or group of
entities (ie, state agency/agencies) will apply for and administer the
home visiting program funding. Regardless of which entities are chosen,
the application must contain a letter of support from the:
- Director of Title V
- Director of the state’s agency for Title II of
the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
- Director of the State Substance Abuse Agency
- Director of the State’s Head Start State
Collaboration Office
States are required to coordinate,
to the extent possible, with the state plan of other enumerated councils,
agencies, and programs that administer early childhood services in the
state.
The entire 48-page FOA is available online.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
(MCHB) Webinar
MCHB will be hosting a Webinar on the Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting Program and this funding opportunity on Thursday, June 17 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern.
Interested parties can register
for this event.
AAP Chapter Guidance
AAP chapters may consider bringing together expertise and experience from
their chapter-level committees on early childhood, child abuse and
neglect, community pediatrics, state government affairs, and other
related issues to determine who will serve as a point person on this
issue.
Chapters are encouraged to determine
the state entity or groups of entities chosen by governors
to apply for funding, and to reach out to the entity/entities to ensure
chapter involvement in the application process. Because the Maternal,
Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program is placed within Title
V of the Social Security Act, state
Title V programs are a logical place to begin this process.
Chapters can be helpful to states in
assessing data gaps for purposes of this first FOA, and can help to shape
the needs assessment and Updated State Plan as future FOAs are released.
Chapters are encouraged to utilize
the AAP policy statement, The
Role of Preschool Home-Visiting Programs in Improving Children's
Developmental and Health Outcomes to provide ongoing guidance
and consultation to states in the development of new programs under the
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.
The Division of State Government Affairs sends this
update to the Academy's Executive Committee, Board of Directors, District
Vice Chairs, Chapter Presidents, Chapter Vice Presidents, Chapter
Legislative Contacts, Committee on State Government Affairs, Committee on
Federal Government Affairs, Chapter Executive Directors, and other
interested AAP members and staff.
For additional state legislative information, strategy suggestions,
in-depth resources on issues of pediatric interest, and past editions of
this update, log on to the AAP
Member Center
and see the State Government Affairs area at http://www.aap.org/moc/stgovaffairs.
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