Purpose: The purpose of this funding is to establish, strengthen, and enhance evidence-based home visiting programs in the 19 eligible jurisdictions in Maryland. While each jurisdiction determines its priority population, MD MIECHV overall supports the provision of services to pregnant or parenting women and teens, with a special focus on trauma, ACEs and substance exposed infants/opioid use and inclusive of fatherhood engagement strategies. Currently funded evidence-based home visiting services (EBHV) include HFA, NFP, and Family Connects.
Goals and Objectives:
Improve maternal, infant, and early childhood health outcomes
Intervene with high-risk mothers as early in pregnancy as possible
Improve the infrastructure of direct services provided to identify and refer mothers and children to appropriate services
Leverage and coordinate with additional programs in the Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Expand availability of EBHV to improve outcomes for families with young children in at-risk communities.
Continue to fund and support the implementation of EBHV in 10 jurisdictions within Maryland
Fund jurisdictions newly identified as being at-risk in the 2021 needs assessment to conduct community readiness assessments to establish or enhance EBHV in additional jurisdictions
3. Strengthen the Maryland MIECHV program infrastructure to improve programs and activities for families receiving home visiting services.
Implement state and local CQI plans
Implement a home visitor certificate program to advance the workforce skills necessary to achieve better results with families
Maintain a management information system to streamline data and reporting
Provide targeted training and technical assistance to local implementing agencies
4. Ensure integration of MIECHV and other EBHV programs with other systems supporting childhood growth and development such as the State’s early childhood system of care and medical homes.
Collaborate with Children’s Cabinet agencies to ensure MIECHV activities are accomplished and integrated into other statewide early childhood activities
Collaborate and partner with a diverse complement of stakeholders to explore and promote integration of MIECHV activities into the state’s early childhood system of care and health care
Methodology:
MD MIECHV currently supports the implementation of HFA, NFP, and Family Connects. MD MIECHV is also strategizing for the changing landscape of home visiting in MD due to the recent state plan amendment that provides reimbursement for home visiting services. MD MIECHV is assessing the impact of Medicaid on funding, program sustainability, and expansion. In that regard, MD MIECHV is also supporting the implementation of additional EBHV. Maryland will continue its at-risk focus with support to pregnant or parenting women and teens, with a special focus on trauma, ACEs and substance exposed infants/opioid use. MD MIECHV’s current caseload is 969 families. MD MIECHV proposes serving 1,033 families in the upcoming award period.
In addition to the implementation of EBHV, MD MIECHV supports additional programmatic activities that strengthen the provision of services and workforce development. Additional programmatic activities include fatherhood engagement and peer support groups for enrolled families and LIAs, workforce retention activities in the form of home visitor group therapy, and CQI. MD MIECHV also manages a robust data management system, which is also utilized for CQI and evaluation purposes, and provides additional training and professional development opportunities, including a bi-annual statewide conference for home visitors and a certificate training program for new staff and supervisors.
To coordinate activities and strengthen referrals among other agencies, MD MIECHV also coordinates with all state child serving agency partners, particularly the Maryland State Department of Education. MD MIECHV works with MSDE on all home visiting coordination efforts to assure we c