POLICY & ADVOCACY UPDATE
Federal funding that supports our families has been renewed! It was a long and grueling fight with many delays concerning us all, especially for our partner agencies and nurses on the ground. Finally, thanks to the collective efforts of supporters across the country, the wait is over and we can all celebrate a huge victory with the passage of a 5-year reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.
What made this happen? The relentless work and support of Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office staff, Nurse-Family Partnership nurses and administrators, families and other stakeholders. On behalf of Nurse-Family Partnership, supporters sent over 7,000 messages to Congress along with thousands of calls, hundreds of postcards and countless meetings with legislators. Families met with local Congressional offices and some even traveled to DC for a parent advocacy day. Additionally, Nurse-Family Partnership agencies invited Members of Congress and their staff on site visits to meet families and learn about the program. Thank you to everyone who lent their voice for families in need; your efforts made the difference.
In early February, Congress passed the bipartisan spending bill (or continuing resolution) which reauthorized funding for the MIECHV program and President Trump signed the legislation into law shortly thereafter. This funding provides $400 million each year for five years for states to support the Nurse-Family Partnership program and other evidence-based home visiting programs.
We were thrilled to see that the bill also included additional legislative victories for children and families. For more information about that legislation, click here.
MIECHV serves approximately 160,000 parents and children in 893 counties in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories. For Nurse-Family Partnership, these numbers translate to approximately 16,000 families across 38 states, 1 territory and 6 tribal communities. MIECHV has supported almost 3.3 million home visits over the past 5 years. MIECHV is the only dedicated federal funding source and the most common public funding source that supports evidence-based home visiting programs.
Want to thank Members of Congress for their
support for the MIECHV program? Check out our easy
to use template.
Thank you to every one of our supporters who contributed to this victory for moms and babies.
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MIECHV supports voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs that improve outcomes for at-risk families and communities.
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