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Help Build Support for Federal Home Visiting Legislation
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Take Action Now on the Education Begins at Home Act
The Education Begins At Home Act (EBAH, S. 244), introduced by Senators Bond (R-MO), Murray (D-WA) and Clinton (D-NY, prior to leaving the Senate), would extend to a broad range of families the opportunity to benefit from Healthy Families America and other quality home visitation programs. EBAH would provide $500 million over three years to help states establish or expand quality home visitation programs. Of the $500 million authorized in EBAH, $400 million would be provided to states on a formula basis to expand and enhance home visiting programs, while the remaining $100 million would be divided between two competitive grants to reach military families and families with English Language Learners.
Please contact your Senators and urge them to cosponsor the Education Begins At Home Act so that more children and families may benefit from this valuable service.
TAKE ACTION NOW!! Contact your Senators TODAY!
Learn More About EBAH (S. 244)
Benefits of Home Visitation:
- Home visitation delivers parent education and family support services directly to parents with young children, providing guidance on how parents can enhance their children’s development from birth through kindergarten entry.
- Home visitation is an effective, research-based and cost-efficient way to bring families and resources together and to ensure that all children have the opportunity to grow up healthy and ready to learn.
- Quality early childhood home visitation programs lead to proven, positive outcomes for children and families, including improved school readiness[i], improved child health and development,[ii] improved parenting practices,[iii] and reductions in child maltreatment.[iv]
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[i] Pfannenstiel, J.C., Seitz, V., & Zigler, E. (2002) Promoting school readiness: the role of the Parents as Teachers Program. NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Intervention Firled, 6, 71-86; Arkansas Statewide Study of HIPPY, 1999, conducted by Dr. Robert Bradley of the University of Arkansas; Levenstein, P., Levenstein, S. & Oliver, D. (2002), First grade school readiness of former child participants in a South Carolina Replication of the Parent-Child Home Program, Applied Developmental Psychology, 23 , 331-353.
[ii] Berkenes, J.P. (2001), HOPES Healthy Families Iowa FY 2001 Services Report; Klagholz & Associates (2000), Healthy Families Montgomery Evaluation Report Year IV; Greene et al. (2001), Evaluation Findings of the Healthy Families New York Home Visiting Program; Katzev, A., Pratt, C. & McGuigan, W. (2001), Oregon Healthy Start 1999-2000, Status Report.
[iii] Pfannenstiel J. & Seltzer, D. (1989) New Parents as Teachers: Evaluation of an Early Parent Education Program, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 4, 1-18; Wagner, M., Iida, E. & Spiker, D. (2001) The Multisite Evaluation of the Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Program: Three-Year Findings from One Community; Administration for Children and Families (2003) Research to Practice: Early Head Start Home-Based Services, Washington D.C.: DHHS,; Galano J. & Huntington, L. (1997) Year V Evaluation of the Hampton, Virginia Healthy Families Partnership; LeCroy & Milligan Associates, Inc. (2001) Healthy Families Arizona Evaluation Report; McLaren, L. (1988) Fostering mother-child relationships, Child Welfare, 67, 35-365.
[iv]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2003) First reports evaluating the effectiveness of strategies for preventing violence: early childhood home visitation and firearms laws. Findings from Task Force on Community Prevention Services MMWR 52 (No. RR-14); Wagner, M., Iida, E. & Spiker, D. (2001) The Multisite Evaluation of the Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Program: Three-Year Findings from One Community. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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