Emily Sama-Miller writes:
The federally sponsored Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) systematic evidence review is seeking public comment on proposed updates to its standards and procedures. HomVEE reviews research literature on home visiting for families with pregnant women and children from birth to kindergarten entry, and its results are used to inform federal funding decisions. HomVEE is sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HomVEE has released a draft Version 2 Handbook that describes updated procedures and standards for the systematic review. ACF is seeking public comment in response to two Federal Register notices that summarize key proposed updates, one about clarifying and updating procedures standards for rating research quality and one about defining and reviewing different versions of home visiting models. The full draft handbook has been published here. Comments are due by September 1, 2020, and may be submitted via email to [email protected].
Good to see the government actively seeking public comment on this.
This program is woefully underfunded in the states that do not have additional state funding providing these services. The need far outweighs the reach. These programs have heroically stepped up to help with the deficits families found themselves facing during this pandemic. While services were largely delivered virtually, the connections and referrals to health and social programming provided to families has an immeasurable value for families facing food insecurity, joblessness, housing instability, healthcare access and emotional supports.