Washington, D.C. — The Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program has been a lifeline for thousands of Indigenous parents and young children. Yet without reauthorization and expansion of the program, this critical resource could disappear. A new column by the Center for American Progress makes the case for Congress to reauthorize the MIECHV program and expand on the Tribal MIECHV provisions to address inequities in access to health care that for far too long have hit Tribal communities the hardest.
For Tribal grantees, home visiting programs have improved the lives of parents and their young children. They have strengthened maternal and newborn health and helped usher in economic stability for families. The following is snapshot of the policy recommendations the column discusses:
- Reauthorizing the Tribal MIECHV program and doubling its funding
- Streamlining reporting requirements so that more time is spent working with families rather than on paperwork
- Building a more robust and culturally responsive data collection system so that it captures the impact home visiting programs have on solely Indigenous communities
“Tribal MIECHV home visiting programs are a lifeline to mothers and their children. Without reauthorization, all the progress that we’ve seen on stronger and more equitable maternal and newborn health, children’s school readiness, and families’ economic security could disappear,” says Stephanie Haddad of the Early Childhood Policy team at CAP.
“Even with limited funding from Congress, we’ve seen the bountiful positive impact that home visiting programs have had in communities across the country—including for Indigenous families—to improve parents and children’s lives,” said Hailey Gibbs, senior policy analyst for Early Childhood Policy at CAP. “President Joe Biden promised that he would invest in underserved communities, and reauthorizing and expanding funding for the Tribal MIECHV program would take a pivotal step toward further fulfilling that promise. Renewing funding would help Indigenous families access the resources and support they need for both parents and their children to thrive.”
Read the column: “Strengthening Home Visiting To Promote the Health and Well-Being of Indigenous Families” by Stephanie Haddad and Hailey Gibbs
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].