This report describes the design of the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation – Strong Start. The evaluation seeks to understand the effects of home visiting as a prenatal intervention to prevent and reduce adverse birth outcomes, improve infant and maternal health outcomes, and reduce health care costs for Medicaid and CHIP recipients. The report presents the study’s conceptual framework, research goals, and research questions. It also discusses the sampling plan, the implementation study, and the measurement and analytic plan for the impact study.

The evaluation and its implementation are the result of a partnership between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.