Evidence-Based Home Visiting

In 2010, President Obama signed legislation that authorized the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program to provide funds for evidence-based home-visiting to families in at-risk communities. Funding began in 2011 to provide services to high-risk and pregnant mothers to improve their health care and that of their children. Sonoma County was awarded MIECHV funds in the amount of $375,000 in FY 2016-2017 via the California Home Visiting Program (CHVP) to support the implementation of the Nurse Family Partnership program. As part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) funding for MIECHV was extended through fiscal year 2017. Before September 2017, MIECHV must be reauthorized with a long-term extension and expansion of funding.

Home visiting programs provide lifelong health and economic benefits to both the mothers and children served in the program, thereby producing substantial savings to federal, state, and local governments. Expanding access to home visiting programs for the highest need populations would greatly improve the health and wellness of families and would reap substantial benefits in reduced costs to public programs.

The County urges the support of the reauthorization and expansion of MIECHV funding.