As announced in a news release issued on June 13, 2011, the Idaho Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program is being planned for Kootenai, Shoshone, Jerome and Twin Falls Counties.  Community forums were held in each of these counties in late June to present information related to the MIECHV program and dialogue with community leaders and members about home visiting as outlined in the FY10 State Plan.  The presentation of the MIECHV program can be found here.  Following the community meetings, the MIECHV program conducted organizational capacity assessments to understand organizational capacity to implement the program according to state and federal requirements.  This organizational capacity assessment may be completed at any time by organizations, as a self-assessment aligned with MIECHV program requirements.  Instructions for completion are included in the document.

On July 21, 2011, the MIECHV program submitted the FY11 State Plan, in which the MIECHV program identified three evidence-based home visiting models that may be implemented in the target counties during the first two years of the program.  The evidence-based home visiting models include two models that are currently implemented in communities across Idaho: Parents as Teachers and Early Head Start Home-Based.  A third model, Nurse-Family Partnership would be new to Idaho.  The FY11 State Plan outlines a proposal such that in addition to implementing Parents as Teachers and Early Head Start Home Based, the Idaho MIECHV program will support a cross-state collaboration between an existing Nurse-Family Partnership program at the Spokane Regional Health District and an organization based in North Idaho to implement the Nurse-Family Partnership model in the North Idaho target counties.  On August 31^st, the Idaho MIECHV program hosted a community stakeholder meeting in Coeur d’Alene to present information on the cross-state collaboration.  At the meeting, MIECHV program staff provided information on the MIECHV program, Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office staff provided information about Nurse-Family Partnership, and Spokane Regional Health District staff shared about experience implementing Nurse-Family Partnership.  The meeting convened partners to inform and discuss the opportunity to establish a cross-state collaboration to implement Nurse-Family Partnership in Shoshone and Kootenai Counties.  In the coming months, the MIECHV program will be further developing its plan to implement each of the three models, including Parents as Teachers, Early Head Start Home-Based, and Nurse-Family Partnership in the target counties.

The MIECHV program anticipates transitioning to implementation of the evidence-based home visiting models with community-based organizations in Spring 2012.  Request for Proposals (RFPs) for Parents as Teachers and Early Head Start Home-Based models will be released in fall or winter of 2011 for organizations to implement evidence-based home visiting in the target counties, as described above.  The MIECHV program is still in the planning phase for the Nurse-Family Partnership cross-state collaboration.  Please check the web site frequently, as information will be updated as it is available.”

Home visiting is a service offered in-home to support positive parenting, nurturing homes and child development. Families voluntarily receive in-home services, which may target pregnant women, fathers, caregivers, and their children birth through 5 years of age. Many scientific studies have evidenced positive impacts of home visiting for children and families. 

The following was posted on whitehouse.gov by Melody Barnes, the President’s Domestic Policy Advisor and Director of the Domestic Policy Council:

"New and expecting mothers and fathers will have a helping hand in those first, crucial years of child rearing ... These grants will help new and expecting parents by providing in-home visits by professionals who can teach them the important skills every new parent should know.

The concept is simple and the results are strong. Research shows home visits can yield substantial improvements in school readiness, father involvement, and parent employment as well as reductions in child abuse, neglect, and dependence on public supports. Home visits can actually reap Medicaid savings through fewer preterm births and (lower, non-emergent) emergency room use. Independent non-partisan organizations estimate that every dollar spent on evidence-based home visitation yields between $3-6 of savings to federal, state, and local governments.

By building on models that have been developing across the country, we’re working to support this crucial service and, at the same time, reaping long-term savings and rewards as children grow up in healthier environments."

Home visiting: An evidence-based program, implemented in response to findings from a needs assessment, that includes home visiting as a primary service delivery strategy (excluding programs with infrequent or supplemental home visiting), and is offered on a voluntary basis to pregnant women or children birth to age 5 targeting the participant outcomes.