NO - H.R. 8876 - Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022

NO - H.R. 8876 - Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022. This bill reauthorizes and increases funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program through FY 2027. Yes, home visits by social workers to at-risk families is a good thing to do, and I supported reauthorization in 2017. But given the dire financial condition of the federal government – and the absence of a federal nexus that justifies a grant program of this nature – I believe this is a decision that should be left to state and local governments to implement at their discretion and with their resources, as many did before the federal program began. Worse, according to the bill's Committee Report, "we lack data about the impact of interventions funded by the federal program." Translation: nobody knows if it even works.