Sec. 501. Sense of Senate
349 words·~2 min read·
/bill/116/hr/1364/ih/section-501A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of the Senate that— from the prenatal period to the first day of kindergarten, children’s development rapidly progresses at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent stage of life; as reported by the National Academy of Sciences in 2001, striking disparities exist in what children know and can do that are evident well before they enter kindergarten; these differences are strongly associated with social and economic circumstances, and they are predictive of subsequent academic performance; research has consistently demonstrated that investments in high-quality programs that serve infants and toddlers better position those children for success in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education as well as helping children develop the critical physical, emotional, social, and cognitive skills that they will need for the rest of their lives; in 2011, there were 11,000,000 infants and toddlers living in the United States and 49 percent of these children came from low-income families living with incomes at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines; the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program was authorized by Congress to facilitate collaboration and partnership at the Federal, State, and community levels to improve health and development outcomes for at-risk children, including those from low-income families, through evidence-based home visiting programs;
MIECHV is an evidence-based policy initiative and its authorizing legislation requires that at least 75 percent of funds dedicated to the program must support programs to implement evidence-based home visiting models, which includes the home-based model of Early Head Start; in fiscal year 2016, MIECHV served approximately 160,000 parents and children, which is only a small portion of those eligible, in 893 counties covering all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and 5 territories; and Congress should increase its investment in MIECHV to support the work of States to help more at-risk families voluntarily receive home visits from home visitors to— promote maternal, infant, and child health; improve school readiness and achievement; prevent potential child abuse or neglect and injuries; support family economic self-sufficiency; reduce crime or domestic violence; and improve coordination or referrals for community resources and supports.