DENVER, COLO. (Dec. 23, 2022) — The National Service Office for Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First celebrates the timely reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. The reauthorization was included in the Congressional year-end funding package that passed on a bipartisan vote today, Friday, December 23, 2022. The MIECHV program supports evidence-based home visiting programs across the country including Nurse-Family Partnership ® and Child First.
As a part of the five-year reauthorization, the MIECHV program received its first-ever funding increase which doubles the federal investment in the program. The MIECHV Program has been foundational for states to build and scale their home visiting systems. This funding increase will allow states to build on that work while continuing to serve families in need of these critical resources.
The legislation also doubled the set-aside for Tribal home visiting and continued flexibility for the use of telehealth or virtual home visits as part of service delivery. This increased federal investment means that programs implementing MIECHV-funded home visiting will be able to continue to serve families with the ability to expand as well as better support the workforce.
“The dedicated nurses, mental health clinicians and care coordinators who implement the Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First programs view the reauthorization of MIECHV as a triumph for families across the country,” said Charlotte Min-Harris, acting president & chief executive officer of the National Service Office for Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First. “We are grateful for the inclusion of the Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act in the year-end spending bill and we thank Congress for prioritizing this critical investment for children and families.”
The National Service Office (NSO) for Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First were included in the National Home Visiting Coalition to accomplish a timely reauthorization and expansion of MIECHV. The NSO is grateful for the work of advocates, including parents and providers from Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First programs, who made their voices heard with Members of Congress in support of MIECHV reauthorization.