The Necessity of MIECHV: A Blog Series
The following blogs highlight several key ways in which the Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program creates multi-generational and long-term benefits for both children and parents, including by improving physical and mental health as well as increasing opportunities and societal economic benefits. Voluntary home visiting programs, like those made possible by MIECHV, pair families who often have limited support and resources with trained home visitors such as nurses, social workers, and educators.
MIECHV was reauthorized in 2018 at a funding level of $400 million a year through FY2022 and will expire September 30, 2022. FFYF has partnered with other national organizations to help lead the National Home Visiting Coalition, a diverse group of organizations working to promote continued federal support of home visiting to strengthen communities and families across the country. The larger coalition has both state and national organizations and is working to advocate for reauthorization of MIECHV to ensure families receive the services they need.
MIECHV is the recognized gold standard in voluntary, evidence-based policymaking, however, federal funding for MIECHV has not increased since FY2013, which has diminished the ability of states to support families who are in need. After nearly a decade of level funding, the National Home Visiting Coalition recommends a five-year reauthorization that would increase funding by $200 million annually (reaching $1.4 billion in FY2027), which is critical to serving more families; doubling the MIECHV tribal set-aside from 3% to 6% to reach more families in American Indian and Alaska Native communities; and continuing to allow virtual home visiting implemented with model fidelity as a service delivery option for families who choose it.
Read the full blog series through the links below*:
*All blogs will be posted by September 29th
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