HHS announces Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program funding opportunity

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced up to $99 million in competitive funding under the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program. Funding for the MIECHV program is provided by the Affordable Care Act.

This competitive grant funding, in addition to the formula-based funding, will be awarded to eligible states and jurisdictions to support effective implementation of home visiting programs. Successful applicants will receive grants to expand services, as well as promote innovation and infrastructure development within their comprehensive, early childhood state systems.

“This funding opportunity in the Affordable Care Act will support states in their efforts to expand and improve home visiting support services for our most vulnerable children and families,” said Secretary Sebelius.

The MIECHV competitive grants program provides two funding opportunities:

• Expansion Grants: Expansion Grants recognize states and jurisdictions that have already made significant progress towards implementing a high-quality home visiting program as part of  a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood system and are ready and able to take effective programs to scale. Grantees will use the funding to expand the scale or scope of evidence-based home visiting programs. Approximately $66 million of the competitive funding will be awarded in seven to ten, 4-year grants.
• Development Grants: Development Grants are for states and jurisdictions that currently have modest home visiting programs and want to build on existing efforts.  States awarded Development Grants will be positioned to strongly compete for future Expansion Grants.  Approximately $33 million of the funding available this fiscal year will be awarded in ten to twelve, 2-year grants.

“We encourage states to continue exploring ways to enhance their Home Visiting activities funded by the Affordable Care Act, and these grants will provide states with successful, evidence-based Home Visiting programs with additional resources to improve these much needed services,” HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.  

HHS’s Administration for Children and Families collaborates with HRSA to implement the MIECHV program and leads the Tribal Home Visiting Program. “This additional funding helps provide valuable information related to parenting, early child development and school readiness,” said David A. Hansell, acting assistant secretary for children and families.

Eligible entities for this competitive funding opportunity include the 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the District of Columbia.

For more information about eligibility, guidance and application submission for the MIECHV, visit www.grants.gov.  For more information on HRSA’s MIECHV program, visit mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisiting/.  To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, visit www.HealthCare.gov.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.