HHS through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has unveiled new resources and information on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV).
The new information includes an Issue Brief which begins to shed light on the significant impact that the program is having in just a few short years. The number of children and parents served has risen from 34,180 in 2012 to 115,545 just two years later in 2014. In another measure, visits have increased from 174,257 to 746,303 visits by 2014 with the cumulative number of visits over the three years totals 1.4 million. Also of note:
Seventy nine percent of participating families had household incomes at or below 100 percent of poverty ($23,850 for a family of four),
34 percent of adults had less than a high school degree and 35 percent and a high school degree
27 percent of the newly enrolled household included pregnant teens,
20 percent of the newly enrolled reported a history of child abuse and maltreatment, and
12 percent of newly enrolled households reported substance abuse
In addition to the issue brief HRSA has made available an interactive State-by-State Data map that allows individuals to determine how many families are being served within a specific state, which home visiting programs are active, and counties are active. Both build on the HRSA’s Home Visiting Program website.