House Education Committee Approves Legislation to Expand Early Childhood Home Visits

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- The House Education and Labor Committee today approved bipartisan legislation that would allow more families to benefit from programs that help prepare young children for school, prevent child abuse and neglect, and provide parents with much needed support when raising infants and young children.

The legislation, the Education Begins At Home Act (H.R. 2343), would expand access to early childhood home visitation programs, which provide families with services that promote positive parenting skills and reduce parenting stress, boost children’s school readiness, and encourage parents to stay actively involved in their children’s education.

“This legislation is about strengthening our nation’s families by giving them the support they need to pursue their dreams,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee.  

“Our children deserve every opportunity and all of the help we can provide for them and their families to get off to a healthy start toward realization of all their potential,” said U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), a member of the committee. Davis introduced the bill along with U.S. Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA).  

“We know that home visitation works through assisting parents in navigating the challenging waters of parenting in the early years of childhood,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. “This bill is focused on taking care of children by teaching parenting techniques and connecting parents to community opportunities and supports to help them better raise their children. Not all of us had parents who served as excellent models in parenting and this bill encourages and helps those who need it most to be better parents.”

The legislation would create, for the first time, a federal funding stream to help states and communities better plan for and provide quality services to families. In addition, the bill would create competitive grant programs to expand access to home visitation services for military families and families with limited-English proficiency, and it would help states create partnerships between programs and related community services.

At a hearing before the Committee last week, experts testified that early childhood home visitation programs are instrumental in helping to improve student achievement, reduce child abuse rates, improve early identification of developmental delays and disabilities, and improve access to health services, and foster the parent-child bonds that are crucial to healthy child development. Witnesses at the hearing also cited research showing that home visitation programs can bring significant financial benefits for taxpayers. Click here for more information on the hearing.

For more information on the Education Begins At Home Act, click here.

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