Home visiting programs are more essential than ever
To the Times:
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our daily lives. Even families that were not experiencing unemployment and lack of resources before the pandemic find themselves in need of help, but for those who were already struggling, the pressure has increased dramatically.
Families need help and home visiting programs are a lifeline during this time of isolation and uncertainty.
Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs help parents and others raising children with the supports necessary to improve the health, safety, literacy, and economic self-sufficiency of the family. During home visits, nurses or other trained professionals visit with women, families and children – some as early as pregnancy to promote positive birth outcomes – to provide parent education and support, ultimately promoting child health, well-being, learning and development.
Home visiting works and tele-visits are happening – home visitors have been conducting virtual visits providing valuable information for struggling families, and some are even helping meet basic needs – especially for those who may not have relatives nearby or other support networks – such as providing diapers and food.
Regrettably, too few get this support. In Delaware County, 40,863 children are under six years of age. Approximately 12,670 children under six years of age are low-income, which the statewide home visiting campaign Childhood Begins at Home considers to be atrisk children most in need of evidence-based home visiting programs.
However, only 316 out of 40,863 children are served.
That means just 1 percent of all children under six and only 2 percent of low-income children under six across the county are receiving services.
On behalf of Early Learning PA, a broad-based coalition that advocates for access to voluntary, high-quality early learning opportunities for all Pennsylvania children and includes Childhood Begins at Home, Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA, Harper Polling conducted a survey of voters in state Senate District 9 in April and found 76 percent support allocating additional public funding for home visiting programs in Pennsylvania.
The impacts of home visiting programs on family economic self-sufficiency and maternal and child health were reasons voters support additional funding:
• 85 percent agree home visiting programs play an important role in improving family economic self-sufficiency by connecting parents to services such as high school GED and job search.
• 82 percent agree that by investing in home visiting programs, Pennsylvania will invest in healthy moms and kids from the start.
Finally, the results show a majority of voters in Senate District 9 would be more likely to vote for a state Senator who votes to increase funding for early childhood education and care programs.
Families have access to four publicly funded, evidencebased home visiting programs in Delaware County: Early Head Start, Healthy Families America, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers. Each model has distinct characteristics and meets families’ unique needs in different ways, and I encourage readers to visit childhoodbeginsathome.org to learn more about how the programs.
Evidence-based home visiting programs benefit the families and communities they serve, and they are also a smart public investment. Policymakers must build upon the commonwealth’s expanded state investments in evidence-based home visiting over the past three years by allocating additional funding in the Community-Based Family Centers and the NurseFamily Partnership line items within the Department of Human Services budget to serve a greater proportion of pregnant women, young children and families eligible for evidence-based home visiting services.
Nothing is more rewarding than knowing children and families who need help the most can access supports to help them be successful. Home visiting is a proven safety net and the programs are more essential than ever. It is my hope that those running for elected office in November also support publicly funded, evidencebased home visiting programs. Together, we can do our part to help ensure families get the information and help they need to stay healthy and safe during this unprecedented crisis.
Rosemarie Halt, Health Policy Consultant, Delaware County