The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama on March 23 and includes $1.5 billion for home visitation services to states through the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program to support a range services to pregnant women and young children. Home visiting programs have been proven to reduce or prevent child abuse in vulnerable families. States competing for these funds must conduct a statewide needs assessment to identify communities at risk including those with high concentrations of poverty, domestic violence, elevated rates of high school drop outs, and other indicators, and are required to demonstrate improvements for the families they serve. We encourage you to contact your state’s health department to consider ways to partner with them if they pursue these funds.
To learn about our efforts to advance public policies that support and protect children and families, go to http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/
