One of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids’ major goals is to win additional funding for voluntary, quality home visiting programs by enacting and funding the Education Begins at Home Act (S. 667 / H.R. 2343). Home visiting programs offer voluntary coaching on parenting skills and other assistance to new parents to help prevent child abuse and neglect, which in turn helps prevent future crime and violence. Home visiting programs have been shown to cut child abuse and neglect in half and reduce kids’ and moms’ later arrests by about 60%.

There is currently no federal funding stream designated for this proven, effective approach. The Education Begins at Home Act would authorize $400 million over three years in grants to states for voluntary, quality home visiting programs. It would also authorize $100 million over three years in grants for voluntary programs targeting English language learners and military families, and would strengthen Early Head Start. Finally, it authorizes a parent and public education campaign about caring for infants and toddlers.

A House Education Reform Subcommittee (now the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee) hearing was held in September 2006. Chief James Burack from Milliken, CO testified at the hearing. Read the news release



In February 2007, Senators Bond (R-MO) and Clinton (D-NY) reintroduced the Education Begins at Home Act (S. 667). ). A House version (H.R. 2343) was reintroduced by Representatives Davis (D-IL) and Platts (R-PA) in May. Also in May, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids worked with the Home Visiting Coalition to hold successful Capitol Hill briefings on the Education Begins at Home Act. Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy spoke to members of the House and their staff, while Gallatin County, Montana Sheriff Jim Cashell spoke at the Senate briefing.

We hope this year’s legislation, as it moves forward to enactment, will target funds first to jurisdictions with the highest need.

Education Begins at Home Act letter to the Senate.
Education Begins at Home Act letter to the House.

A key child welfare funding source, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), was targeted for a $500 million cut (almost 30%) under the Administration’s FY07 budget proposal. The House and Senate restored FY07 funding to $1.7 billion. Unfortunately, the Administration has again proposed cutting SSBG from $1.7 billion to $1.2 billion in their FY08 proposal. The Senate and House proposed to restore SSBG funding to $1.7 billion funding.

SSBG funding letter.

The Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) provides grants to states for community-based services to prevent child abuse and neglect through parenting-education, family strengthening services for troubled families, adoption services, and other preventive programs.

The full House and Senate approved, and the President enacted, a bi-partisan PSSF reauthorization bill (P.L. 109-288) in September 2006. The final bill includes $40 million per year in new mandatory funding for FY07-FY11. The legislation reflects a compromise between House members who wanted to use these new funds to decrease caseloads for social workers and increase monthly caseworker visits and Senators who wanted to dedicate the money toward helping children whose parents abuse methamphetamine and other substances. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is pleased that the final compromise bill maintains the PSSF focus on prevention and includes the funding increase, which will support both the House and Senate bill approaches.

The Senate and the House propose to fund Promoting Safe and Stable Families at the same level as in 2007.

PSSF funding letter.