Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Homevisiting Grant Program - Project Title: Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program in Kentucky Applicant Name: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services 275 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40601-2321 Project Director information: Christine Sawalha, (502) 564-3363. Christine.Sawalha@ky.gov Annotation: The Kentucky Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) MIECHV program provides evidence-based home visiting services through the HANDS model, supporting families from pregnancy through early childhood. The program enhances maternal and child health and strengthens family resilience. By addressing healthcare access gaps and social disparities, MIECHV ensures that at-risk families receive essential support. Problem: Kentucky families face significant challenges, including economic instability, healthcare barriers, and high rates of maternal depression, tobacco use, and child injuries. These disparities contribute to poor maternal and child health outcomes, highlighting the need for evidence-based early intervention services. Purpose: The Kentucky HANDS MIECHV program delivers voluntary home visiting services to improve maternal and child health, child safety, and early development. The program prioritizes at-risk families, ensuring access to comprehensive support. Matching funds will expand service capacity, strengthen workforce training, and enhance referral coordination with healthcare and social services. Goal(s) and Objectives: Goal A: Deliver High-Quality, Evidence-Based Home Visiting Services • Reduce at least 15% of Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) issued to LIAs by September 29, 2027, through enhanced oversight and quality improvement. • Increase family participation in home visiting services by 5%. Goal B: Improve Maternal and Child Health, Child Safety, and Family Support • Increase maternal depression screenings, follow-up care, and tobacco cessation referrals. • Reduce child injuries, maltreatment cases, and emergency department visits among HANDS families by 2%. • Strengthen referrals by increasing completed referrals by 5%. Goal C: Strengthen Coordination with Early Childhood Systems • Increase HANDS referrals by 5% through improved statewide partnership. • Increase healthcare provider referrals by at least 250 families. Goal D: Foster Workforce Development • Reduce training deficiencies identified in Plans for Growth or CAPs by 10%. • Improve staff retention rates by 5% through professional development. Approach: MIECHV implements the HANDS model, using evidence-based interventions to support at-risk families. Home visitors provide early intervention and parent education to improve health, safety, and child development outcomes. • Caseload: Maintain a caseload of 4,161 MIECHV family slots in Year 1 and 4,372 in Year 2. • MIECHV Communities Served: Services will be provided in 120 MIECHV-funded counties, expanding to meet high-need areas. • Local Implementing Agencies (LIAs): Fund 58 LIAs/local sites to ensure statewide access. • Matching Funds: Support workforce training, increase service delivery capacity, and improve coordination with community organizations. If not applied, services will be maintained within current funding while identifying future funding sources. Kentucky MIECHV is committed to improving maternal and child health, strengthening families, and fostering community resilience through high-quality home visiting services.
