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Policy Pick: Current Legislation on Home Visitation Programs

August 17, 2009
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Home visitation is a well-documented strategy for engaging families with young children and is currently receiving significant attention from Congress and the California State Legislature. Home visitation programs offer information, guidance, and emotional and practical support directly to families, and are associated with:
  • Improvements in birth outcomes
  • Decreases in rates of abuse and neglect
  • Growth in rates of breastfeeding
  • Increases in the identification of developmental delays, and referrals to early intervention programs
  • Increase usage of better parenting practices

First 5 LA supports home visitation programs through a variety of its current investments, including Welcome, Baby!, a place-based family engagement strategy. Welcome, Baby! is funded through First 5 LA's Best Start LA investment, and is being implemented in collaboration with California Hospital Medical Center and the Maternal and Child Health Access program. In addition to programmatic investments utilizing home visitation strategies, First 5 LA is supporting public policies that move toward universal, voluntary home visiting programs. Several legislative opportunities in support of home visiting have recently emerged at both the federal and state levels. First 5 LA supports these progressive policy changes.

In the State Legislature, AB 543 (Ma, D-San Francisco), sponsored by Nurse Family Partnerships (NFP), maintains California's commitment to NFP programs. AB 543 will facilitate California's ability to draw down federal stimulus dollars and make administrative changes to California law. NFP programs provide nurses to first-time, low-income mothers, beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy through the first two years of a child's life. Since 1997, nine counties in California, including Los Angeles, have implemented NFP programs.

At the federal level, several pieces of legislation supporting the funding of home visitation programs have been introduced this session. Of special note is the inclusion of funding for home visitation within the federal health care reform bill, HR 3200, "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009."  The components allocate funding to states to support evidence-based models of voluntary home visiting for expectant parents and families with young children.  Programs would prioritize high need communities based upon income or high rates of abuse and neglect.

We encourage you to contact your state and congressional representatives regarding home visitation opportunities. Please email Aleece Kelly, policy analyst, at akelly@first5la.org with any questions or suggestions.

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