Podcast: Launching 12 Studies of Home Visiting Programs

A few weeks ago, the Pew Home Visiting Campaign announced grants for 12 new research projects to pinpoint what works in home visiting programs. The studies, which will be conducted around the country, are designed to provide answers to a multitude of questions, such as how to involve fathers in these programs, what kinds of tools work best to evaluate their quality, and what kind of intensity (how many visits per month? how long should the visits be?) makes a lasting impact on children’s growth and development.  (Go here for a list of the 12 grant winners.)

As most readers of this blog know, home visiting programs send professionals to the homes of pregnant women and mothers of very young children, offering guidance about nutrition and health and how to support their children’s development, month by month. The programs, which are usually administered by local government agencies or non-profit organizations, are targeted to women who are low-income or otherwise disadvantaged. Some of them are aimed specifically at first-time mothers. The passage of the health care bill in March provided a new stream of federal funding for these kinds of programs if they can show, via scientific studies, that they are effective.

For this podcast, we spoke with Jill Antonishak, research manager for the Pew program, to hear what we might learn from the new studies.

By the way, the home visiting campaign has also just released a Pew Home Visiting Inventory that provides a much-needed picture of home visiting programs around the country. It offers a state-by-state look at how much money each state is spending per child, how that compares to the national average (which was $171 per low-income child in the ’09-’10 fiscal year) and which non-profit models each state is funding. Check it out.

CORRECTION 11/2/10: The end of the podcast incorrectly cites the publication of a post about one of the winners of the federal Investing in Innovation competition. That post has not yet been published.

Early Ed Watch podcast – November 2, 2010

With our guest Dr. Jill Antonishak, research manager at the Pew Home Visiting Campaign

Interviewed by Lisa Guernsey for the Early Education Initiative at New America