Funding Agency/Organization:Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in cooperation with the Administration for Children and Families.

Purpose of MIECHV Formula Grant: This program is designed: (1) to strengthen and improve the programs and activities carried out under Title V; (2) to improve coordination of services for at-risk communities; and (3) to identify and provide comprehensive evidence-based home visiting services to improve outcomes for families who reside in at-risk communities.

Purpose of MIECHV Competitive Grant Program: The goal of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) competitive grant program is to award additional funding to states that have sufficiently demonstrated the interest and capacity to expand and/or enhance their evidence-based home visiting programs to improve outcomes for children and families who reside in high-risk communities.

Partners: Governor’s Office for Children and Families designated lead agency for MIECHV. Other designated partners include: Department of Public Health, Maternal Child Health; Department of Early Care and Learning Georgia Head Start Collaboration Office; Department of Behavioral Health Services, Division of Addictive Diseases; Division of Family and Children Services; Georgia Family Connection Partnership; and Voices for Georgia’s Children, 0 – 5 Home Visiting Task Force.

Georgia’s Formula Funding Allocation:

FFY10: $2,570,377

FFY11: $3,635,264

Budget Requirements: There are no cost sharing/matching funds requirements for the MIECHV competitive grant program.

Georgia’s FFY 10 & FFY11 Updated State Plan for Formula Funding: The Affordable Care Act – MIECHV program provides Georgia with an opportunity for collaboration and partnership at the State and community level that will improve health and development outcomes for our most at-risk children and families through evidence-based home visiting programs. The overall goal of Georgia’s MIECHV Program is to improve child and family outcomes by implementing evidence-based home visiting as a major strategy within an Early Childhood System of Care. The objectives for the program are to:

  • Implement Evidence-Based Home Visiting models within an Early Childhood System of Care (ECSOC) in seven demonstration counties (Clarke, Crisp, DeKalb, Glynn, Houston, Muscogee, Whitfield)
  • Implement one or more of the following Evidence-Based Home Visiting models in the seven counties: Early Head Start Home-Based Option, Healthy Families Georgia, Nurse Family Partnership and Parents As Teachers for expansion or implementation based on county risks and needs
  • Develop a cohesive plan to promote program quality and effectiveness by providing ongoing training and technical assistance to counties in implementation of evidence-based home visiting programs within an ECSOC.
  • Develop a coordinated data system to guide decision making and target services that will assist counties in monitoring benchmark progress and continuous quality improvement throughout the five year grant period.

A primary focus within each community will be placed on meeting and improving legislatively-mandated benchmarks. Benchmarks include:Improved Maternal and Newborn Health; reduced Child Injuries, Child Abuse, Neglect, or Maltreatment, and Reduction of Emergency Department Visits; Improved School Readiness and Achievement; Decreased Domestic Violence; Improved Family Economic Self-Sufficiency and; Improved Coordination and Referrals for Other Community Resources and Supports.

Georgia’s Competitive Grant Proposal: If additional funding is provided via this competitive grant mechanism, Georgia will be able to develop the home visitation infrastructure necessary to reach more of Georgia’s vulnerable families and make a more significant public health impact. Georgia will pursue two specific goals: (1) strengthen Georgia’s capacity to identify families at risk, and (2) improve Georgia’s capacity for engaging and retaining families at risk into home visitation services.

Goal 1 will be pursued primarily through the development of a Central Intake and Referral System to be designed and implemented by Georgia’s Department of Public Health, MCH. A unified, statewide early childhood data system is a long-term goal of the Central Intake System. This system is envisioned as the information backbone for the Georgia Early Childhood System of Care and will serve as the catalyst for ensuring that all children are screened so that appropriate referrals for assessments and follow-up services can be made.

Even the most effective home visitation programs cannot have widespread public health impact without adequately engaging eligible populations; therefore, strategies to improve engagement in evidence-based home visitation programs are of critical importance. To improve engagement and retention of families at risk in home visitation services, Georgia will implement and test a culturally sensitive, community-based preventive intervention engagement protocol developed by prevention scientists at the Center for Family Research. A cornerstone of this protocol is the role of a Community Peer Liaison (CPL), who will support the Home Visitation Partner (HVP) in efforts to locate, engage, and retain those eligible for home visitation services.