March 3, 2015 the Honorable Mitch Mcconnell United States
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
March 3, 2015 The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable Fred Upton United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Harry Reid The Honorable Frank Pallone United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Orrin Hatch The Honorable Paul Ryan United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 2051 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Sander Levin United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable John Boehner The Honorable Charles Boustany United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Lloyd Doggett United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Reid, Chairman Hatch, Ranking Member Wyden, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Levin, Chairman Boustany, and Ranking Member Doggett: As diverse national, state, tribal and local organizations and elected officials committed to accountable policies that both improve outcomes for vulnerable children, pregnant women and families and save taxpayer resources, we write to urge you to extend funding for the bipartisan-supported Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV program) at its current annual funding level of $400 million in the lame duck session or as one of the first acts of the 114th Congress before the MIECHV program funding expires in March 2015. As you know, our nation spends billions annually to address a host of health, educational and social challenges that at-risk families face, including poor birth outcomes, child abuse and neglect, childhood cognitive disabilities, and poor school readiness and academic achievement. These conditions, however, can be reduced or prevented at a fraction of the costs with voluntary evidence-based home visiting programs. MIECHV supports the implementation and expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs that help children and families in 50 states, 6 territories, and numerous tribes and the Urban Indian Organizations implementing tribal home visiting programs. Scientific research demonstrates that evidence-based home visiting improves prenatal care and birth outcomes, early child health and development, school readiness, and parenting practices; reduces child maltreatment, and helps families become more self-sufficient. These outcomes can produce a significant return on investment for state and federal government. Studies have found that evidence-based home visiting saves scarce resources. For example, a 2005 report by the RAND Corporation, entitled Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise, found that two evidence-based home visiting programs saved from $1.80 to $5.70 per dollar invested. MIECHV is a wise investment and a good use of taxpayer money--qualities that states have embraced as a sensible approach to the health, educational and fiscal challenges we face. MIECHV allows states flexibility in choosing the home visiting initiatives that best meet their needs, while maintaining important accountability provisions that ensure positive outcomes for children and families. Participation in home visiting is voluntary, which means parents who participate in the program are committed to their success. MIECHV is a pro- family program that enjoys bipartisan support in Congress. In fact, Congress previously voted in support of continued funding for the MIECHV program. We urge you to include an extension of the MIECHV program at its current funding level among legislation that must pass during the lame duck session or prior to March 2015 in the 114th Congress. Sincerely, National Home Visiting Coalition Members American Academy of Pediatrics American Psychological Association Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Center for American Progress Action Fund Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Child First Children's Defense Fund Child Welfare League of America Early Intervention Program for Adolescent Mothers Easter Seals Family Check-Up Family Spirit First 5 LA First Five Years Fund First Focus Campaign for Children Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY USA) March of Dimes National Alliance of Children's Trust & Prevention Funds National Child Abuse Coalition National Head Start Association Nurse-Family Partnership Parent-Child Home Program Parents as Teachers Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) Prevent Child Abuse America/Healthy Families America SafeCare Save the Children Action Network ZERO TO THREE National Organizations 9to5 National Association of Working Women Alliance for Strong Families and Communities American Academy of Nursing American College of Nurse-Midwives American College of Preventive Medicine American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American Federation of Teachers American Occupational Therapy Association American Professional Society on the Child Abuse of Children (APSAC) American Public Health Association Association of Clinicians for the Underserved Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Association of University Centers on Disabilities Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Barber National Institute Birth Defects Research & Education Foundation BUILD Initiative Child Abuse Research Education & Services Institute at Rowan University Child Care Aware of America Children's Home Society of America Children's Leadership Council Comfort Consults, LLC Community Action Partnership Community Capacity Builders, LLC Datatude, Inc. Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) Every Child Matters Education Fund Fair Share Futures Without Violence HealthConnect One Healthy Teen Network HighScope Educational Research Program Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA) Infant Development Program Inc. Jewish Council for Public Affairs Juvenile Law Center LEAnet, A National Coalition of Local Education Agencies Multidimensional Software Creations (MDSC) National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc. National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds National Association for Children's Behavioral Health National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists National Association of Community Health Centers National Association of County and City Health Officials National Association of County Human Services Administrators National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS-SDE) National Association of Social Workers National Black Child Development Institute National Children's Advocacy Center National Congress of American Indians National Council of Jewish Women National Council of La Raza National Crittenton Foundation National Foster Family-Based Treatment Association National Foster Parent Association National Hispanic Medical Association National Indian Child Welfare Association National Indian Head Start Directors Association National League for Nursing (NLN) National Network for Youth National Nursing Centers Consortium National PTA National SafeCare Training and Research Center NICHQ (National Institute for Children's Health Quality) Prevent Blindness Provincial Council of the Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians) Reach Out and Read RESULTS Safe States Alliance Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law School-Based Health Alliance Strong Fathers Strong Families Teach For America The American College of Nurse-Midwives The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) The National Organization of State Associations for Children (NOSAC) The Ray E. Helfer Society The Salvation Army USAction State, Territory, and Local Organizations Alabama Children First Foundation Prevent Child Abuse Alabama VOICES for Alabama's Children Alaska Alaska Children's Trust American Samoa Aiga Manuia Home Visiting Program Department of Public Health of American Samoa Arizona Arizona Fair Share Arizona Partnership for Children Child and Family Resources Child Crisis Center Easter Seals Blake Foundation Prevent Child Abuse Arizona Southwest Human Development Arkansas Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative-HIPPY Family Network, Inc Invest Early Coalition Inspired Communities Foundation KidSPOT HIPPY Parents as Teachers, Fort Smith Public Schools California Alameda County, California California Fair Share Child Advocates of Nevada County/Foothills and Truckee Healthy Babies Program Children Now Children's Defense Fund California Early Edge California First 5 Association of California Lake County Tribal Health Consortium , Inc. Los Angeles County Perinatal Mental Health Task Force Maternal and Child Health Access National Center on Shared Leadership Inc. Next Generation Parents Anonymous Inc. SHIELDS For Families Solano County, California Strengthening Families All Around the World, Inc. The Atlas Family Foundation The Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health Waterman & Associates Colorado Children's Hospital Colorado Colorado Association