MIECHV Re-authorization FAQs
Healthy Families America, as a member of the Steering Committee of the National Home Visiting Coalition, is working in partnership with other evidence-based home visiting models and national, state, and local organizations to ensure a timely and robust reauthorization of MIECHV. The Coalition has set the following priorities:
- Increase MIECHV funding over the next five years to reach more families and better support the workforce.
- Double the tribal set-aside within MIECHV from three percent to six percent
- Continue to allow virtual home visiting with model fidelity as an option for service delivery
It is important that members of Congress hear from you! Through your stories, we have the opportunity to educate lawmakers about the importance of evidence-based home visiting programs, including Healthy Families America, and its positive impact on families and children.
Advocacy or Education is public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. Lobbying is seeking to influence a politician or public official regarding supporting or opposing a piece of legislation.
Advocacy happens in many different ways, but at its core it’s about raising awareness, building and leveraging relationships, and educating others around the issues and policies that matter to you. Advocacy can include such activities as:
- Educating and informing lawmakers
- Helping to shape state laws and budgets
- Making your voice(s) heard about important issues that affect our daily lives
- Helping policymakers find solutions to problems
What does this look like in practice? When advocating or educating your member of Congress, you can talk to them about the work that your HFA program does and the successes you have seen with families. You can let them know that MIECHV has been one of the funding mechanisms for this work or that it would help with expanding to serve more families. Prior to the introduction of any legislation, you can also make recommendations for how to improve the MIECHV program.
Lobbying occurs once there is proposed legislation and you make specific requests, such as asking your member of Congress to support or oppose a bill or to make specific changes to the legislation. Nonprofits can engage in some degree of lobbying; however, it’s recommended that any agency follow the rules and guidelines as set around lobbying and advocacy when engaging with lawmakers. IRS has strict rules regarding the percentage of a nonprofit’s budget that can go toward lobbying activities. Government agencies also have restrictions on lobbying and often have restrictions on how employees can engage with elected officials. It is recommended that you ask for your organizational or agency rules and guidelines as set around lobbying and advocacy when engaging with lawmakers.
Join us in contacting your lawmakers and urge them to act now to reauthorize the bipartisan Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program and to increase funding for this important program. Use this easy to use Action Alert to email, call, and tweet your member of Congress today.
Due to the pandemic, most Hill meetings are being conducted virtually. The good news is that the virtual format makes interacting with your federal lawmakers much more accessible and easier to coordinate. Each meeting will last approximately 30 minutes.
In some cases, the Member will be able to join; in other cases, you will be meeting with the staff member, who serves as a liaison to the member of Congress and will brief them after the meeting. In some cases, it can be better to meet with a staff person, because they are responsible for analyzing and making recommendations to their bosses on legislation!
For additional guidance, check out our MIECHV Advocacy Toolkit for everything from sample emails, sample meeting agendas, and tips to help you be successful!
Now is an excellent time to begin reaching out to your members of Congress to schedule meetings. We recommend that you contact both the U.S. Representative who represents the area where HFA families are being served and your two U.S. Senators. You will be sending an email to their scheduler and/or staff person who handles children and families’ issues.
Use this link to find your member of Congress. You can contact them through their website or call their office and ask for the scheduler’s email address.
Below is suggested email language to use for your meeting request. We encourage you to adapt it to sound like you!
Dear [insert staff name]:
My name is [insert name] and I am the [insert title] of [insert organization name] in [city, state]. I am reaching out to request a meeting with you to discuss the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.
[insert some information about your organization, your HFA site, and the children and families you serve]
In addition to sharing more about our evidence-based home visiting program [or programs] and the families we serve in [insert state, county or community], I would like to discuss the importance of the upcoming MIECHV reauthorization and how we believe the program can be strengthened to better support families and children in [insert state].
I am available to meet on [insert available dates]. Please let me know your availability. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
No matter what your level of experience is with engaging with lawmakers, the HFA policy team is here to support you and make your meetings as productive and enjoyable as possible. We are available to meet with you in advance of your meeting to help you prepare and practice your talking points. We may be able to attend the meetings you are holding with your members of Congress, but remember, they will want to hear from you!
Here are links to resources to help you in your meeting preparation:
- HFA MIECHV Talking Points
- HFA Evidence of Effectiveness
- National Home Visiting Coalition Reauthorization Priorities, Virtual Home Visiting One-Pager, and Letter to Congress
- MIECHV Overview
- Tips for Congressional Meetings (including Sample Congressional Meeting Agenda)
- Sharing Your Story (for families)
You can contact us at policyteam@preventchildabuse.org to let us know about your meeting and/or request any support.
It is always important to follow up and thank them for the meeting! You can also share any requested information or answer questions that came up during the meeting. Below is suggested email language to use as a template for a follow-up email message. We encourage you to reiterate an offer for a site visit if you made one. Site visits are a wonderful way to further build a relationship. And, as always, adapt this language to make it sound like you.
Dear [Congressman/woman + full name or staff name]:
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me [and anyone else who joined the meeting] about Healthy Families America and home visiting in [state]. We very much appreciate your commitment to children and families in [state] and look forward to staying in touch.
As we discussed during our meeting, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) is due to be reauthorized this year. We would appreciate the Senator/Congressman/woman’s support of [reiterate key points made].
At some point in the future, we would be honored to welcome Rep./Sen.____ to join us for a site visit and meet our staff and families. I will stay in touch and hope you won’t hesitate to reach out anytime I can be a resource on home visiting in [state].
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Hosting a site visit with a member of Congress takes some planning and effort but is one of the best ways to build a strong and lasting relationship. It gives your Senator and/or Representative a chance to hear directly from program staff and families about the impact of HFA in their own community. It can also connect the Member and his or her staff with home visitors and families who can serve as a resource and inspiration.
A site visit with a member of Congress would be specific to your HFA site and tailored to the interests of the legislator. Typically, this would include introductions and welcome, sharing from staff members on the program and outcomes, hearing from family participants and/or alumni, and photo opportunities.
Please contact us at policyteam@preventchildabuse.org to let us know if you have scheduled a site visit and if you need any support.
Involving parents and families can be a very effective way of incorporating real life experiences of Healthy Families America participants and graduates into your congressional meetings or site visits. However, meeting with members of Congress and their staff can be intimidating so it’s important to provide support and guidance to make the experience as effective and meaningful as possible for both the parent and the member of Congress or staff. See this Sharing Your Story resource. It can help the families that you plan to include in your meetings or site visits feel comfortable sharing their stories and experience with HFA.
The law that authorizes MIECHV will expire in September 2022. The House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over MIECHV will begin to hold hearings in the spring and into the summer. The National Home Visiting Coalition and PCA America/HFA will share updates and provide opportunities for action. Please check back as we update this section with additional dates!
If you have any questions or need additional support, please contact policyteam@preventchildabuse.org.
Want to contact us?
Interested in learning more about our home visiting programs or helping transform childhoods and communities? Get in touch—we’ll respond as quickly as we can.