Home Visiting Coalition
Media Contact:
Heather Cabral
202-550-6880
Home Visiting Coalition disappointed in program lapse; vows to continue effort for reauthorization
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sept. 29, 2017 — Despite strong bipartisan support, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) expires on Saturday, Sept. 30. The Home Visiting Coalition called the anticipated program lapse a disappointment, especially in light of decades of evidence that MIECHV-funded home visiting models improve the health, development and education of young children.
“MIECHV will expire and the longer that Congress takes to reauthorize this bipartisan evidence-based program, the more likely local home visiting programs will shut down, home visitors will lose their jobs, and families will lose home visiting services Quick action by Congress is the only way to prevent anxiety among families in every state and many tribal communities, and prevent further damage to the home visitor and parent relationships that make the MIECHV program so effective,” said Diedra Henry-Spires, CEO of the Dalton-Daley Group and co-convener of the Home Visiting Coalition.
The Home Visiting Coalition also reiterated its call for quick passage of the bipartisan Senate bill (S. 1829), which reauthorizes MIECHV for five years without the harmful state-match requirement included in the House bill that passed this week. The Coalition intends to redouble its efforts to see MIECHV through to reauthorization as its outcomes are both desired and effective.
“It’s astounding to me that a program with a long history of bipartisan support couldn’t quickly be reauthorized before it expired. We remain committed to seeing this through and will continue to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. MIECHV must get reauthorized quickly and in a way that preserves what works and continues to provide the home visiting services tens of thousands of families have come to rely on,” said Karen Howard, vice president of early childhood policy at First Focus Campaign for Children, and co-convener of the Home Visiting Coalition.
About the Home Visiting Coalition: The Home Visiting Coalition is a diverse group of organizations committed to the well-being of children, working to promote continued federal support of home visiting to strengthen families in communities across the country. Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs improve the health, development, and education of young children. These programs set the stage for children and families to become self-sufficient and successful.
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