Celebrating The First Annual National Home Visiting Week

The Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals has officially launched the first-ever National Home Visiting Week (NHVW), running from April 21–25. The initiative garnered bipartisan support in the Senate, reserving the last full week in April for National Home Visiting Week for years to come! At Groundwork Ohio, we are proud to support and acknowledge the work of Ohio’s home visitors, this week and every week.

Home visiting professionals play a pivotal role in early childhood development. They work directly with families from pregnancy up until preschool, providing personalized guidance, education, and access to resources that support the child’s physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development.

Why Home Visiting Matters in Ohio

According to The Center on the Developing Child, the first 1,000 days of life are a critical period of rapid brain development, with more than one million neural connections formed every second. By the time a child reaches age three, 80% of brain development has taken place.

Consistent access to health care for infants and toddlers has lasting impacts on a child’s future. The health care system is often the first to engage with at-risk infants from low-income families, playing a crucial role in shaping both immediate and long-term outcomes. Overall, these services can improve both maternal and child health.

Per the CDC, Ohio’s infant mortality rate remains in crisis at 7.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, significantly higher than the national average of 5.6. For Black babies, the disparity is even more devastating at 13.1 deaths per 1,000 live births – more than double the rate of white infants.

Here’s how home visiting makes a difference:

Help Me Grow is a statewide system offering programs connecting pregnant women and new parents with trained professionals who provide home visiting, Early Intervention, developmental screenings, and connections to community resources during the most critical years of a child’s life. The current House version of Amended Substitute House Bill 96 has reduced investments in the program by $22.5M from the Executive version of the spending plan. Groundwork Ohio and our partners are advocating to the Ohio Senate to restore this funding and scale evidence-based home visiting models, proven to improve the health and safety of Ohio’s moms and babies.

Family Connects Ohio is a nurse home visiting program for newborns and their families that specifically supports moms, kinship caregivers, and adoptive parents in the time right after a baby is born. Family Connects is currently operating in 11 Ohio Counties and Governor DeWine’s proposed investments in Amended Substitute House Bill 96 would scale the program to all 88 counties if funding is restored. If families desire a longer-term relationship with a home visiting professional, Family Connects staff can make that referral.

These programs support maternal and infant health, promote school readiness, and reduce child maltreatment. The evidence is clear:

• Families who participate are 60% less likely to experience infant loss (Ohio Department of Health).

• Mothers who participate in a home visiting program are more likely to receive prenatal care and are less likely to experience pregnancy complications (Heath Policy Institute of Ohio).

• Children in these programs are 50% less likely to be born with low birthweight, a key predictor of long-term health (Prenatal and Infancy Home Visitation by Nurses: Recent Findings. The Future of Children).

• Home visiting improves child cognitive development, reduces rates of abuse and neglect, and boosts family economic self-sufficiency (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness).

In 2024, 12,436 Ohio families benefited from home visiting programs. But with approximately 141,474 children under age 3 living below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, that means only 8.8% of eligible families are currently being served, according to Groundwork Ohio’s Early Childhood Data Dashboard.

Invest in What Works

Ohio has remained among the bottom ten states for infant mortality for far too long. In the face of this crisis, local communities have developed innovative solutions that are delivering strong results.

When mothers and babies are dying, every dollar counts. Strategic investment in community-based strategies prevents avoidable deaths and helps families thrive.

If we want to improve maternal and infant health outcomes across Ohio, we need to expand access and increase investment.

We urge Ohio’s legislators to restore Governor DeWine’s executive budget proposal, which included an increased investment of $22.5 million in funding for home visiting programs in the Help Me Grow line item.

Governor DeWine’s state operating budget proposal would reach more than 25,000 additional newborns over the biennium through a phased approach to grow the Family Connects model statewide from the current 11 counties.

Now is the time to act! Contact your Ohio Senate members today and make your voice heard: https://t.ly/xhXT2

Learn more about home visiting:

Home Visiting in Your Language

Bringing the Light Home for So Many New Mothers and Families

Advancing Home Visiting in Ohio: Key Lessons from the National Summit