PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Federal funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program is set to expire at the end of September. There are efforts afoot to allow the program to continue in Pennsylvania.
A coalition of 15 organizations signed a letter addressed to members of Congress calling for funding to continue for what they call a critical program that serves thousands of mothers in the commonwealth — 70% of whom are low income earners.
“I have stage four cancer, and I lost half of my left lung,” said NaTosha Robinson, a client of the Mabel Morris Family Home Visit Program in Philadelphia, one of the organizations on the petition.
Her daughter has a condition that limits her abilities, and Robinson says the program saved her. She gives particular credit to her assigned nurse, Jackie.
“She helped me get occupational therapy for my daughter, got me writing tools to help me get her to write better, and talking to the speech therapist,” Robinson said.
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National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, a subsidiary of Public Health Management Corporation is also on the petition. Senior Director Lizz Tooher says these programs meet families where they are. And the families they serve “have shown reduction in child injury abuse, neglect and maltreatment. There’s reduction in crime and domestic violence, and improved maternal and infant health.”
The programs help high-risk families during pregnancy and early childhood with a multitude of needs, including breastfeeding, access to job training and child care services.
Over 5,700 participants are enrolled in home visiting in Pennsylvania. MIECHVP has been at a funding level of $400 million for the last 10 years. The National Home Visiting Coalition recommends a five-year reauthorization that would increase funding by $200 million annually — reaching $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2027 — which they say is critical to serving more families.