Understanding and Expanding the Reach of Home Visiting (HV-REACH)

HV-REACH is studying, developing, and disseminating evidence-informed resources and strategies that home visiting programs can use to increase access to and participation in home visiting services among eligible families. 

Maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting, an evidence-based service delivery model, can support child and maternal health, child development and school readiness, and family economic self-sufficiency, and help reduce child abuse and neglect. 

According to the National Home Visiting Research Center, home visiting programs, including those funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) and Tribal MIECHV programs, reached nearly 320,000 families in 2023. Although many families participate in home visiting services, many more could benefit. States, territories, Tribes, and local programs face a variety of challenges in building awareness, recruiting, and retaining families in home visiting.

In conducting the Understanding and Expanding the Reach of Home Visiting (HV-REACH) project, ACF aims to deepen understanding of how home visiting can better reach families, including: (1) families who are not recruited in the first place; (2) families who are recruited for home visiting but do not enroll; (3) families who enroll, but never engage to receive services; and (4) families who are recruited and engage initially, but end their participation early. The project will build knowledge about factors at the family-, home visitor-, program-, community -, and systems-levels that influence outreach, recruitment, retention, and active participation of families.