There’s no doubt that early childhood — birth to three years old — is THE MOST IMPORTANT time to lay down that  healthy foundation for a child’s rapidly developing brain. Those busy little brains need healthy and trusted attachments to a caregiver, appropriate but not toxic stress, lots of happy interactions with mom, dad, siblings, friends, puppies, kittens, grasshoppers, bubbles…the world. Get a great start at this age, and a kid has a better chance at a happy, healthy life and/or is better able to withstand some heavy hits later in life. Nurse-Family Partnership says that providing home visits for at-risk families results in a 48% reduction in child abuse and neglect, a 67% decrease in behavioral and intellectual problems, and 59% fewer arrests by age 15, among many other benefits.

Since early childhood has such a HUGE impact on health, social services, prisons, etc.; AND because there’s federal money for states to start such campaigns; AND because a couple of dozen different home visiting programs exist, it’s lucky for all of us that Pew Center on the States launched the Home Visiting Campaign a couple of years ago.

Are you merely interested in how home visiting works? This site’s for you. Are you an employee in a state that’s thinking about starting a home visiting program? This site’s also for you. Want to find out which program’s most effective and/or best for your situation? This site’s for you, too.

The highlights:

• Watch a home visit.Lest you think that home visiting programs mean that bossy nurses stomp through the door to tell you that you’re doing
• Continue reading →