Join Us to Advocate for Parents and Children!
Virginia's Home Visiting Programs and TANF
Virginia’s home visiting programs are at risk of losing funding because of the decline in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families balance over the next two fiscal years. The projected TANF Balance as of 6/30/23 is $46,316,648. By 6/30/24, the projected TANF Balance is $4,185,257. Virginia needs to plan how it will continue supporting home visiting programs while managing this reduction in TANF spending.
Our Ask:
-
Fill funding gaps with General Fund to leverage federal funding and continue services
-
Partner with Early Impact Virginia, in collaboration with Families Forward Virginia, to develop alternative funding streams for home visiting programs
The 2022 General Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Social Services to create a workgroup to make recommendations one of which was: “…continuing to support those programs with state general funds.”
Learn more by reading our Blog on this topic.
Share what you've been doing and who you've contacted: Tell us in this quick Encounter Form!
Here's our Mid-September Update on our Blog.
Here's our Mid-August Update on our Blog.
Here are Frequently Asked Questions - we'll update with new FAQs as we get them
View the July 26 webinar on this topic. Passcode: HUs8Xi@Z
About Home Visiting:
Home visiting connects pregnant and parenting families with young children to a trained, family support professional who provides customized coaching and guidance through pregnancy and the early stages of a child’s development. Home visitors help parents understand their role as their child’s first, and most important, teacher. Home visitors help families realize their strengths, and unlock their child’s potential.
Home visiting benefits families, children and the community.
-
Moms and babies are healthier
-
Children are better prepared for school
-
Children are safer
-
Families are more self-sufficient
-
Home visiting programs save money in the long run
TANF Investment Summary:
TANF supports Home Visiting Services to 4,574 children (3,970 families) in 123 Virginia communities. Local programs rely on TANF funding to leverage an additional $11,000,000 for direct services.
CHIP of Virginia - $2,400,000
Healthy Families - $9,035,501
Resource Mothers - $1,000,000
Early Impact Virginia - $600,000
You can get updates on advocacy by following our blog!
Save the Date!
Save the date for our two in-person Advocacy Days in Richmond during the 2024 Virginia General Assembly. We'll be back at the YWCA of Richmond (6 North 5th St, Richmond, VA 23219):
Home Visiting/Maternal Health Advocacy Day
Wednesday January 24th 8 AM – 2:30 PM
Child Abuse/Family Violence Prevention Day
Tuesday January 30th 8 AM – 2:30 PM
These advocacy days are opportunities for all our staff, partners, allies, families served and parent advocates across Virginia to visit their Delegates and State Senators and share the dire need that our systems better serve all parents and kids.
Scenes from last year's advocacy days
.png)
.png)
.png)
What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is as basic as speaking on behalf of oneself or others to get something done. For example, as child advocates we seek to ensure that the children in our community have a voice and that their needs are met. This can mean speaking on behalf of children and families to your local community officials, your state-level elected officials, or your federal policy-makers.
Helpful resources include this Advocacy 101 Webinar and this Advocacy Guide.
Why Advocate for Families?
The most obvious reason to be a child and family advocate is that you care. You care about the children in our country and want them to be safe, healthy, and happy. It follows that you want to help ensure that local, state, and federal policy-makers adopt, implement, and maintain important policies and programs that support children families. In order to ensure that these policies and programs are maintained, it is critical to have a sustained vocal and noticeable presence at all levels of policy-making. You can be part of that presence; and therefore, you can be part of the effort to protect our nations children and families.
Decades of research have shown that the creation of positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adversity.
While brain science has helped us understand how adverse childhood experiences cause toxic stress for children, which can lead to poor health outcomes, we also know that positive childhood experiences protect adult mental health and promote healing from toxic stress."