HANDS: Kentucky’s Home Visiting Success Story

Liza Holland, a consultant working with the Prichard Committee, shares this post:

Health Access Nurturing Development Services, or HANDS, is Kentucky’s home visiting initiative to support at-risk families and give babies and children a better start in life.

HANDS is funded through Kentucky’s Master Tobacco Settlement at $9 million and leverages that money to access an additional 17 million in federal Medicaid funds. It is a program carried out by health departments in all 120 counties.

HANDS has demonstrated great maternal and child outcomes. A sample of the recent findings includes these maternal outcomes:

• ADEQUATE PRENATAL CARE – 14% more than similar high risk families that did not participate
• PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION – 49% less than similar high risk families that did not participate
• MATERNAL COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY – 40% less than similar high risk families that did not participate

And also these child outcomes:

• PREMATURITY – 26% less than similar high risk families that did not participate
• LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS - 46% less than similar high risk families that did not participate
• INFANT DECEASED IN HOSPITAL – 94% less than similar high risk families that did not participate
• CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT – 47% less than similar high risk families that did not participate

The U.S. Senate recently approved a two-year extension for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month. This federal-state partnership, which provides critical family support and coaching, has a long history of bipartisan backing at the federal and state levels. The extension of funding through September 30, 2017—$400 million a year for fiscal years 2016 and 2017—will mean that more of our nation’s vulnerable children will have the opportunity to grow up safer and healthier and to be successful in school and life.

These good results for children and families are made possible in part by the strong national advocacy work of Prichard partners like the Pew Charitable Trusts and ReadyNation, as well as the work across Kentucky of many dedicated citizens.  HANDS and other early childhood initiatives are important Prichard Committee priorities.