WASHINGTON, D.C. – Work & Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) delivered the following statement at a Work & Welfare Subcommittee hearing on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.
As prepared for delivery.
“Good afternoon and welcome. Thank you to all of our witnesses for joining us today. I am particularly pleased to have one of my constituents, Ms. Mendy Smith from Brightpoint in Bloomington, Illinois, on today’s panel.
“I’m Congressman Darin LaHood, and I represent Illinois’ 16th District, covering much of the central and northwestern parts of the state.
“The title of our hearing is, ‘the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: Early Support, Lifelong Impact.’ This is the Subcommittee’s first hearing on the MIECHV program since 2017.
“MIECHV provides voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to expectant and parenting families that are at-risk for adverse outcomes.
“Federal funding for home visiting services was first proposed by President George W. Bush in 2008 and was later authorized by Congress as the MIECHV program in 2010.
“According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, in fiscal year 2025, nearly 79,000 households were served with more than one million home visits.
“In my district, in 2025, Brightpoint provided MIECHV home visiting services to more than 500 families across 17 counties, many of them rural.
“By supporting families prenatally until age five, a critical period for early childhood development, MIECHV is a preventative program.
“MIECHV is a program that gets results. This program builds upon decades of research that proves home visits by a nurse, social worker, or other trained professional during pregnancy and in the first years of a child’s life help prevent child abuse and neglect, support positive parenting, improve maternal and child health, and promote child development and school readiness.
“What makes MIECHV unique is that funding is tied to evidence. Unlike most federal programs, we know what outcomes taxpayers can expect from our investments. For a home visiting model to earn taxpayer support, an evaluation must prove the program has demonstrated significant, positive outcomes on targeted measures of family well-being.
“Furthermore, support for the program has had broad, bipartisan support, including during reauthorizations in 2018 and 2022.
“Our late friend and former colleague, then-Ranking Member of the Work and Welfare Subcommittee, Jackie Walorski was a steadfast champion for children and the MIECHV program.
“Through the leadership of my friend Ranking Member Danny Davis and Jackie Walorski, Congress passed the Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022. This Act reauthorized MIECHV from fiscal year 2023 through 2027 and increased federal investments in the program, including establishment of state match requirement.
“Since passage of the Act, the percentage of families receiving services and screenings has increased and there has been continued improvement in key outcome areas:
- 81% of mothers received depression screenings within 3 months of giving birth, up from 75% in 2017.
- 77% of children with developmental delays received timely services, up from 69% in 2017.
“MIECHV’s authorization expires in October 2027, and Congressional action will be required to continue the program. At this hearing, we hope to hear more from the perspective of parents, home visitors, tribal communities, local agencies, and state administrators about implementation of that 2022 reauthorization.
“I hope to continue building bipartisan support for this program and better understand how we can strengthen MIECHV’s impact on families.
“The evidence is clear: MIECHV provides early support, and lifelong impact. Unlike other welfare programs, MIECHV is grounded in rigorous evaluations and American taxpayers can expect measurable outcomes with federal investments.
“I look forward to hearing from our expert witness panel today.”