Federal Funding for Home Visitation
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law healthcare reform legislation that included $1.5 billion in funding to states over five years for evidence-based home visitation. Nurse-Family Partnership is providing consultation to States that want to access these funds to serve vulnerable families.
Guidance and rules from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and Administration for Children and Families (ACF) were issued on June 10, 2010, followed by an FAQ. The guidance from HRSA and ACF also contained information on the FY2010 Funding Allocations by State and Territories. A separate guidance has been issued for Tribes and Tribal Organizations. Nurse-Family Partnership has created an easy-to-use summary of the initial funding announcement for the federal initiative and a Frequently-Asked-Questions document to assist you.
The agency also recently published criteria for evidence of effectiveness and have request public comments from the field (deadline to submit comments was August 17, 2010). NFP has submitted formal comments regarding the proposed evidentiary criteria and also has provided specific talking points on NFP’s priorities.
NFP guidance to States
The Nurse-Family Partnership team is offering consultation to states wishing to apply for these funds to implement the Nurse-Family Partnership model. State-based program development experts are available to speak with you about the new law and the statutory requirements, including the needs assessment that states must conduct to be eligible for the home visiting funds. These same experts can explain how NFP meets all the criteria as outlined in the legislation, and how the NFP National Service Office has helped communities in 32 states establish the NFP program. Most recently, HHS released a supplemental information request (SIR) on the required Statewide Needs Assessment. NFP-NSO also recently issued a Public Policy Update on this new information.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a list of state-designated points of contact for the new home visiting program. To view the appropriate contact for your State, click here.
The NFP National Service Office team of national program and policy experts is ready to assist as well, and invites you to get updated information through web-based seminars. NFP experts on policy and program implementation have offered interactive web-based seminars to present clear, concise information about the federal statute and answer your questions. The current schedule of webinars is posted in the right column on this page. NFP is preparing additional webinars on topics related to the process that states will go through to apply for federal funds – stay tuned!
Most importantly, the National Service Office has created a comprehensive Federal Home Visitation Initiative Toolkit for States that includes information on the legislative outline of this new program, elements of the state needs assessment, evaluation guidance and directions for managing a state NFP initiative.
Check back often to the Nurse-Family Partnership website for updates, or contact your state’s NFP program developer for more assistance.
Contact us to request a letter of support from the Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office.
Visit the Legislation page for specific details on the Federal Home Visitation Initiative legislation and NFP's advocacy efforts over the past years.