August 2021: Home Visiting Month

WHEREAS, Michigan has a long-standing tradition of home visiting; home visiting is a voluntary evidence-based intervention in which trained professionals provide periodic home visits to pregnant women and families with young children to improve health outcomes, promote positive parenting practices, build healthy relationships, support social-emotional and cognitive development, increase school readiness, support family self-sufficiency, and reduce child maltreatment and injury; and,

 

WHEREAS, the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences for families and our communities is steep and profound; home visiting supports the development of protective factors in families, buffering the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences; and,

 

WHEREAS, state and local partnerships including but not limited to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Department of Education, and the Michigan Public Health Institute support home visiting programs and collaborate to grow and improve home visiting services, supporting families from prenatal through school entry; and,

 
WHEREAS, the State Home Visiting Advisory has been established to bring all partners including parents with lived experience and providers of home visiting services together to support and advance an equitable, integrated home visiting system that provides Michigan families with the opportunities to choose the right home visiting program, at the right time, in the right place; and, 

 

WHEREAS, early childhood communities across Michigan have also engaged in improvement efforts through a statewide network of Great Start Collaboratives and Parent Coalitions to support children and families and ensure children are safe, happy, healthy, and learning; and, 

 

WHEREAS, to reach these outcomes, a continuum of programs and services are in place to support families and young children to reach their potential - however, many of the families who may benefit the most from services are not connected; these families are not aware that high-quality evidence-based home visiting programs are available from the prenatal period to kindergarten entry; and, 

 

WHEREAS, quality, voluntary home visiting leads to fewer children in social welfare, mental health, and juvenile corrections systems with a considerable cost savings for states; the National Conference of State Legislatures reports the return on investment in home visiting is $1.75 - $5.70 per dollar spent in programming; and, 

 

WHEREAS, evidence-based home visiting from the prenatal stage to kindergarten is an essential two-generation approach to successful kids and successful families; and, 

 

WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 140 was adopted by the full House by voice vote at the July 21, 2021, session declaring August 2021 as Home Visiting Month in the state of Michigan;  

 

NOW THEREFORE, to raise awareness of the benefits and availability of evidence-based home visiting services for pregnant and parenting families in Michigan, I Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim August 2021 as Home Visiting Month in Michigan.