About the Tribal Home Visiting Program

Congress authorized the creation of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, also known as the Federal Home Visiting Program, as part of the Affordable Care Act. This legislation greatly expanded federal funding for voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs for expectant families and families with young children up to age 5. Three percent of the program’s funding is set aside for AIAN communities through the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, also known as the Tribal Home Visiting Program. The Administration for Children and Families oversees the program in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Since 2010, 30 tribes and tribal/urban Indian organizations have received grants through the Tribal Home Visiting Program. The diverse grantees are found both on and off reservations and are located anywhere from remote Alaska to the rural Midwest or urban Southwest. Some serve a single tribe, while others serve multiple communities or a consortium of tribes.

The goals of the Tribal Home Visiting Program are to—

1. Support the development of happy, healthy, and successful AIAN children and families through a coordinated home visiting strategy that addresses critical maternal and child health, development, early learning, family support, and child abuse and neglect prevention needs
2. Implement high-quality, culturally relevant, evidence-based home visiting programs in AIAN communities
3. Expand the evidence base around home visiting interventions within AIAN populations
4. Support and strengthen cooperation and promote linkages among various early childhood programs, resulting in coordinated and comprehensive early childhood systems

Home visiting connects families under stress with critical services in their communities. This support is particularly important in tribal communities, which disproportionately experience poor health outcomes associated with factors such as poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, and barriers to education. The Tribal Home Visiting Program grantees prioritize services for families experiencing high risks. They build on inherent AIAN strengths, such as cultural identity, spiritual traditions, community connectedness, and support from extended family. The grantees work to understand the service infrastructure in their communities and to build coordinated, effective early childhood systems. They also help develop knowledge about tribal home visiting and contribute to the field.