Home visiting programs offer a range of services for expectant parents and families with newborns and young children. These services nurture the attachment between parent and child and enrich parents' capacity to support their children's physical, social, and emotional development. Home visiting programs have a proven local and national track record of helping deliver better outcomes for children and families. As a result, the state of Washington has made a deep, sustained, and growing commitment to supporting a range of home visiting programs across the state.
This spring, the Strengthening Families Washington team (SFWA) at the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) led two home visiting services application processes. The first wrapped up in July and increased the number of families served by the Home Visiting Services Account (HVSA) by approximately 300 slots through a competitive award process.
Of the 23 applications for funding, 11 programs were awarded contracts through the Spring 2022 HVSA Expansion Funding Opportunity.
In addition to the general home visiting expansion, SFWA also underwent a specific home visiting funding opportunity for federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations within Washington State to serve approximately 50 families.
After two rounds of reviews from a panel, three programs that were successful in their applications:
- Tulalip Tribes Family Spirit (expansion) to serve additional Tulalip families.
- Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services Family Spirit (Start Up) to serve Urban Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian families.
- Cowlitz Indian Tribe Child Care Development Program Parents as Teachers (expansion) to serve additional tribal families.
SFWA worked closely with DCYF’s Office of Tribal Relations for outreach to tribes, communication, application development, and reviewed and received eight letters of interest and applications by the June 30, 2022 deadline. Five programs submitted full applications were reviewed by a panel including community partners and stakeholders.