Funding was awarded by the Florida MIECHV initiative to establish new evidence-based home visiting programs in four high-need communities, and expand services in four additional programs. New sites include:
- Bay, Franklin, Gulf Healthy Start Coalition will provide Parents As Teachers to 50 families in Bay County;
- The Okeechobee County Healthy Start Coalition will offer Parents As Teachers to 50 families in Okeechobee County and adjacent Indiantown in Martin County;
- Lutheran Services Florida will serve 50 high-need families in the Belle Glade community of Palm Beach County using Parents As Teachers, and,
- WellFlorida Council will provide Parents As Teachers to 50 Marion County families.
Programs funded to expand their capacity include:
- Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition will expand its Nurse Family Partnership program in Duval County to adjacent Baker and Clay Counties, serving 50 additional families;
- The Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County will increase the capacity of its Nurse Family Partnership program by 50 additional families;
- The Manatee Community Action Agency will serve 50 additional families in its Parents As Teachers program in Hardee/DeSoto and adjacent high-need zip codes in northern Sarasota County, and,
- The Health Planning Council of Broward County will add 50 additional families to the caseload of its Nurse Family Partnership program.
Proposals for new and expanded home visiting sites were solicited through a competitive RFP process and selected following review by an Objective External Review Panel. With this funding, evidence-based home visiting programs are now supported by Florida MIECHV in 25 of the state’s 29 designated high-need communities and four contiguous areas.