Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Homevisiting Grant Program - Address: 4601 W Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78751-3146 Project Director Name: Claire Hall Contact Phone Number: 512-466-5846 Email Address: Claire.hall01@hhs.texas.gov Website Address: https://fss.hhs.texas.gov/ Program Funds requested in the application: $30,146,654 ($25,676,711 federal base; $4,469,943 federal matching funds) Annotation: The Health and Human Services Commission, Division of Family Support Services (FSS) proposes to continue leveraging Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) and state general revenue funds to support the implementation of Texas Home Visiting (THV), a comprehensive early childhood systems approach to home visiting in communities with demonstrated need. Problem: As described in the MIECHV needs assessment amended in March 2025, at-risk communities face challenges associated with a high concentration of low-income families, birth risk, and mental health and substance use. Additional factors establishing risk include declining child-care enrollment for three and four-year-olds and a lack of early childhood programs including home visiting. Purpose: The purpose of the Texas MIECHV project is to support comprehensive home visiting programs and early childhood systems in Texas communities with demonstrated need to strengthen families and improve maternal and child health outcomes. Goals and Objectives: The goals of this grant are to: 1) provide effective, evidence-based home visiting services in targeted, at-risk communities that meet local needs and achieve the Health Resources and Services Administration performance measures regarding: maternal and newborn health, child maltreatment and injury prevention, school readiness, domestic violence screening, family self-sufficiency, and coordinated referrals; 2) develop early childhood systems, improve coordination, facilitate access, and promote comprehensive services to improve outcomes for young children and families; 3) provide training, technical assistance, and continuous quality improvement support to enhance the quality of home visiting services; and 4) provide data collection support and evaluation to enhance the quality of home visiting. Approach: Funds from this grant support 35 local implementing agencies with 19 subgrantees serving 47 counties identified at highest risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes in the Texas MIECHV needs assessment. All communities were identified through a combination of risk modeling and qualitative investigations that identified high-risk counties in the state as priorities for home visiting programs. FSS uses a Request for Application (RFA) process to offer grants to LIAs to serve communities identified in the statewide needs assessment. Applicants select program models that meet Health and Human Services criteria for evidence of effectiveness as required by HRSA. Applicants may select multiple program models as well as use a combination of program models with families, avoiding concurrent dual enrollment, to support a continuum of home visiting services that meets families’ specific needs. Texas MIECHV local implementing agencies currently implement one or more of the following eight evidence-based models based on the needs of the community: Family Check-Up or Children, Healthy Families America, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, Nurse-Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers, Play and Learning Strategies, Promoting First Relationships, and Safecare Augmented. The Texas MIECHV program anticipates serving 7,120 families in fiscal year 2026 and to continue serving 7,120 families in fiscal year 2027, dependent on continuity of service provision. Communities will also build early childhood partnerships that support comprehensive early childhood systems and referral pathways. FSS plans to use increased funding from the MIECHV match opportunity to expand MIECHV home visiting in existing communities and support quality of home visiting through training and enhancements.
