2017 NJ MIECHV Sign-On Letter |
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Dear New Jersey Senators and Representatives:
As New Jersey organizations and individuals committed to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families, we respectfully request you urgently support the reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program over five years, with a gradual increase in funding up to $800 million per year. New Jersey currently receives over $11.5 million annually in combined MIECHV formula and competitive funding to deliver evidence-based and voluntary home visiting services targeted within communities where children and families are at greatest need. The reauthorization must happen before September 30, 2017. Failure to do so could jeopardize home visitation services reaching more than 7,000 families in New Jersey and undermine the ability of providers to hire and retain high quality staff.
Please consider action to extend the program as an urgent priority upon the return from the August recess and before MIECHV program funding expires on September 30, 2017. MIECHV is must-pass legislation which can be included in a legislative package before September 30, 2017.
While this bipartisan federal program recognizes parents are children’s first teachers, research shows that many parents face overwhelming stress that affects their children’s health and ability to succeed in school. Through home visiting, nurses and other trained professionals visit families on a voluntary basis, beginning as early as pregnancy through age five to empower parents to make healthier decisions for themselves and their children’s health, well-being, learning and development. “Evidence-based” refers to home visiting models whose services are proven effective through decades of research demonstrating improvements in maternal and child health and development.
In New Jersey, MIECHV funds support three evidence-based home visiting models, including Healthy Families America, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers, the three most common MIECHV-approved models employed across all states. Combined, these three models are now available to families in all 21 counties. Scientific research demonstrates the significant impact these services have on children and families by improving their health, education, and employment outcomes while reducing mental health and criminal justice costs, instances of child abuse and dependence on welfare.
New Jersey has a long history of investing in evidence-based home visiting programs because they strengthen families and deliver a return on public investment. Today, many more children and families in New Jersey are benefitting from evidence-based home visiting programs because of the bipartisan actions of Congress to extend MIECHV in the past. We respectfully ask your support in continuing this commitment, before September 30, for the next five years with an incremental increase up to $800 million per year.
Sincerely,
NJ Supporters of Evidence-Based Home Visitation Programs
As New Jersey organizations and individuals committed to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families, we respectfully request you urgently support the reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program over five years, with a gradual increase in funding up to $800 million per year. New Jersey currently receives over $11.5 million annually in combined MIECHV formula and competitive funding to deliver evidence-based and voluntary home visiting services targeted within communities where children and families are at greatest need. The reauthorization must happen before September 30, 2017. Failure to do so could jeopardize home visitation services reaching more than 7,000 families in New Jersey and undermine the ability of providers to hire and retain high quality staff.
Please consider action to extend the program as an urgent priority upon the return from the August recess and before MIECHV program funding expires on September 30, 2017. MIECHV is must-pass legislation which can be included in a legislative package before September 30, 2017.
While this bipartisan federal program recognizes parents are children’s first teachers, research shows that many parents face overwhelming stress that affects their children’s health and ability to succeed in school. Through home visiting, nurses and other trained professionals visit families on a voluntary basis, beginning as early as pregnancy through age five to empower parents to make healthier decisions for themselves and their children’s health, well-being, learning and development. “Evidence-based” refers to home visiting models whose services are proven effective through decades of research demonstrating improvements in maternal and child health and development.
In New Jersey, MIECHV funds support three evidence-based home visiting models, including Healthy Families America, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers, the three most common MIECHV-approved models employed across all states. Combined, these three models are now available to families in all 21 counties. Scientific research demonstrates the significant impact these services have on children and families by improving their health, education, and employment outcomes while reducing mental health and criminal justice costs, instances of child abuse and dependence on welfare.
New Jersey has a long history of investing in evidence-based home visiting programs because they strengthen families and deliver a return on public investment. Today, many more children and families in New Jersey are benefitting from evidence-based home visiting programs because of the bipartisan actions of Congress to extend MIECHV in the past. We respectfully ask your support in continuing this commitment, before September 30, for the next five years with an incremental increase up to $800 million per year.
Sincerely,
NJ Supporters of Evidence-Based Home Visitation Programs