Home Visiting

Home visiting programs offer voluntary, family-focused services to pregnant mothers and families with infants and young children, typically in the family's home. These programs connect families with resources to improve maternal and child health, support child development, and promote family self-sufficiency.

The primary federal funding stream for these services is the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, which is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

Key National Resources

• Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program: The official federal resource from HRSA, providing information on the program's purpose, state-level grants, performance data, and recognized evidence-based models.
• Envisioning Your Home Visiting Expansion (ZERO TO THREE): A set of planning resources, including an infographic and key questions, designed to help states and communities strategically expand home visiting services with a focus on equity and community voice .
• Home Visiting Research and Evaluation (OPRE): A resource from the Office of Planning, Research, & Evaluation (OPRE) detailing the research and evaluation activities for the federal MIECHV program, including major national projects such as the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) project.
• National Home Visiting Resource Center (NHVRC): A resource that defines early childhood home visiting, describes its two-generation approach, and summarizes the research on its effectiveness and return on investment.

Evidence-Based & Promising Programs

This is a list of prominent national and international home visiting models that have been recognized for their evidence of effectiveness.

• Healthy Families America (HFA): A nationally recognized home visiting program model designed to work with overburdened families who are at-risk for adverse childhood experiences, including child maltreatment.
• Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY): A parent involvement and school readiness program that helps parents prepare their young children for success in school and beyond.
• Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP): A community health program where registered nurses conduct regular home visits with low-income, first-time mothers from pregnancy until the child's second birthday.
• ParentChild+: An early literacy program that prepares young children for school success by strengthening the parent-child relationship and building language skills.
• Parents as Teachers (PAT): A program that provides parent education and family support to families from pregnancy until their child enters kindergarten.
• SafeCare®: An evidence-based home visitation program for parents who are at risk for or have been reported for child neglect or physical abuse.
• Triple P (Positive Parenting Program): A multi-level system of parenting and family support strategies designed to prevent social, emotional, and behavioral problems in childhood.

Databases for Further Research

• ERIC (Education Resources Information Center): A comprehensive database of education-related literature, including research on early childhood development and home visiting.

• PubMed: A database of biomedical and life sciences literature from the National Library of Medicine, containing research on the health outcomes of home visiting programs.

Search Tips: For best results, try using a combination of keywords such as "home visiting," "maternal child health," and "early childhood intervention."