Programs

Evidence-Based Home Visiting

In September 2008, The Children’s Trust Fund of South Carolina was awarded a 5-year, $ 2.5 million grant to support the infrastructure needed at the state and local level for the high quality implementation of existing evidence-based home visiting programs to prevent child maltreatment.

This grant was made available through the Children’s Bureau within the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. At that time the Children’s Trust’s grant was awarded, 16 other cooperative agreements were granted.

The grant received works to:

Build state and local infrastructure and implement systems changes designed to spread the use of evidence-based home visiting programs.
Support the implementation of specific evidence-based home visiting approaches within selected target populations, and with strong fidelity to proven, effective models.
Conduct rigorous local evaluations examining the degree to which system change has occurred, and the effects of home visiting programs in reducing child maltreatment and achieving other family and child outcomes.
Conduct a cross-site evaluation drawing data and cross-cutting lessons from the grantees’ local evaluations. This profile describes one project funded under the grant, including its goals, the participating organizations, and plans for the local evaluation.

Nurse-Family Partnership, a nurse home visitation program that works to improve the health and well-being of first-time, low-income mothers and their babies, was selected as the specific program model to be implemented. One of the key reasons for selecting NFP was the strong outcomes the program has produced during its 30 years related to reducing child maltreatment.

To support the implementation of Nurse-Family Partnership in South Carolina, a strong, public-private partnership was formed. This partnership is supported by: The Duke Endowment, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, the Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office and the Children’s Trust. Many additional partners assist with the EBHV Advisory Committee and the Home Visitation Team.

Six NFP sites, covering nine counties, began operating in late 2008 and early 2009 thanks to funding by the Duke Endowment, the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation and South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness.

The target service population for NFP is first-time, low-income mothers who are in households at or below 185% of the federal poverty level and are no more than 28 weeks into their pregnancies.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/outcomes.aspx seven areas of outcome effectiveness have been documented.

These outcomes are as follows:

Child Health
Maternal Health
Reductions in Maltreatment
Child Development and School Readiness
Family Economic Self-Sufficiency
Positive Parenting Practices
Reduction in Juvenile Justice

To learn more about this grant and evaluation contact Ann Maletic. To learn more about this grant and the 17 other ACF EBHV grantees see the S.C. ACF EBHV Grant Profile. To learn more about The Nurse Family Partnership Evidence Based Model read the 2-page profile.

NFP locations

Supporting Evidence-Based Home Visiting (EBHV) Grantees: Lessons Learned From Planning Year 1

Replicating Evidence-Based Home Visiting Models: A Framework for Assessing Fidelity by Deborah Daro, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Supporting Home Visitors in Evidence-Based Programs: Experiences of EBHV Grantees