Louisiana Department of Health receives $13.9M Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration

Maternal, infant and early childhood homevisiting grant program - FY 2026 miechv non-competing continuation update project abstract summary purpose: the Louisiana miechv program (la miechv) sustains and strengthens HRSA-approved, voluntary home visiting services to support at-risk families across Louisiana. Louisiana consistently ranks poorly on maternal and child health outcomes, as documented in the 2020 needs assessment and 2021 early childhood risk and reach report. La miechv addresses these disparities by delivering evidence-based home visiting through nurse-family partnership (nfp) and parents as teachers (pat), prioritizing early childhood development, maternal health, parenting skills, and family resilience. Federal matching funds will be used to expand pat services in allen and st. John the baptist parishes, extending access to evidence-based home visiting in communities with documented unmet need. Goals and objectives: goal 1: sustain HRSA-approved home visiting services and enhance maternal, child, and family health outcomes. • obj. 1.1: implement nfp in 44 miechv-funded parishes across ldh regions 3–9, identified as at-risk in the 2020 needs assessment. • obj. 1.2: implement pat in 38 miechv-funded parishes across ldh regions 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9, identified as at-risk in the 2020 needs assessment. • obj. 1.3: maintain infrastructure supporting HRSA-approved home visiting through continuation of contracts for key staff (11.0 fte, braided funding). Goal 2: strengthen home visiting through parent leadership and early childhood systems coordination. • obj. 2.1: pilot integration of a parent leader with the region 1 pat team using the hv coiin 2 framework (stages 2–3); document and refine for statewide scaling. • obj. 2.2: continue engagement with healthy Louisiana managed care organizations to explore maternal and child health collaboration. Goal 3: ensure quality service delivery through ongoing data evaluation. • obj. 3.1: monitor referral-to-enrollment rates across lias to identify trends and barriers; use findings to inform targeted technical assistance. • obj. 3.2: analyze family retention and service duration to inform engagement strategies consistent with model requirements. Approach: models: nfp and pat. Communities: 64 parishes identified as at-risk in the 2020 needs assessment. Target population: low-income families eligible for medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TANF, or ssi. Lias: 16 local implementing agencies. Proposed caseload: FY26: 1,941 family slots; FY27: 1,981 family slots. Matching funds: non-federal funds from the Louisiana fund will support pat expansion in allen and st. John the baptist parishes.