Home Visiting

Home Visiting

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children is working to ensure that each child can grow up in a stable and healthy home environment. When families are successful, our communities are successful. 

Evidence-based home visiting programs help parents and others raising children with the supports necessary to improve maternal and child health—including mental health—improve child development and school readiness, promote family economic self-sufficiency, promote positive parenting practices, reduce abuse and neglect and address substance use disorders.  

During home visits, nurses and other trained professionals visit with women, families and children as early as the beginning of pregnancy to promote positive birth outcomes and provide parent education and support. 

These voluntary sessions play an important role, especially for those new to parenthood or with limited resources. With far too few Pennsylvania families receiving evidence-based home visiting services, we are working on expanding its reach through increased funding for the programs and through multiple avenues of referrals, including the Department of Human Services Medicaid Maternal Home Visiting Program. 

In 2018, in a collaborative effort with stakeholders and home visiting models across the state, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children founded the Childhood Begins at Home Campaign. The Campaign helps policymakers and the public understand the value of home visiting and support public investments to increase the statewide capacity of evidence-based home visiting models. 

Home Visiting Policy Goals

  • Increase the number of children and families receiving evidence-based home visiting services. 
  • Support the home visiting workforce and program sustainability by ensuring adequate staffing corresponds with service expansion and building a qualified and culturally informed workforce to meet families’ needs. 
  • Expand the Childhood Begins at Home campaign to include new evidence-based home visiting models receiving state funding and explore inviting other supportive partners to elevate community voices. 

Home Visiting Publications

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Childhood Begins at Home Campaign

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children is a governing body member and leads the day-to-day management of Childhood Begins at Home, a statewide campaign to help policymakers and the public understand the value of and support public investments in evidence-based home visiting.

Childhood Begins at Home Logo

To learn more, visit: childhoodbeginsathome.org.

 

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Fast Facts about Home Visiting in PA

  • Unmet Need
    • Only 7% of Pennsylvania low-income families who could benefit the most receive evidence-based home visiting services. 
    • 20,665 Pennsylvania families receive evidence-based home visiting services.
  • Children and families in each of the state’s 67 counties receive voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services. 
  • Percentage of children served by Race/Ethnicity: 
    • 2% of Asian (Non-Hispanic) children receive home visiting services 
    • 4% of Black (Non-Hispanic) children receive home visiting services 
    • 5% of Hispanic or Latino children receive home visiting services 
    • 4% of White (Non-Hispanic) children receive home visiting services 
    • 3% of children who identify as two or more races/ethnicities receive home visiting services

Eight evidence-based home visiting models operate in Pennsylvania and receive state funds:

  • Child First
  • Early Head Start
  • Family Check-Up®
  • Family Connects
  • Healthy Families America
  • Nurse-Family Partnership
  • Parents as Teachers
  • SafeCare Augmented®

Evidence-based home visiting models are proven to meet families’ needs in one or more of the following outcomes: 

  • Child development and school readiness
  • Child health
  • Family economic self-sufficiency
  • Linkages and referrals
  • Maternal health 
  • Positive parenting practices
  • Reductions in child maltreatment
  • Reductions in juvenile delinquency, family violence and crime
  • 3,109 members served in the Medical Assistance Maternal Home Visiting Program