Washington State has a strong history of supporting home visiting and taking creative policy action to guide that support.
The centerpiece is the Home Visiting Services Account (HVSA), which was created in 2010 by the state legislature through a budget provision. The HVSA leverages public and private dollars to support evidence- and research-based voluntary home visiting models, as well as promising practices. Its structure ensures diversified funding and promotes long-term sustainability by braiding and blending funding sources.
In FY2016, the HSVA combined $11.39 million federal (Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting) funds, $4.45 million state funds, and $1.96 million private funds to support home visiting services. Since the establishment of HSVA, it has grown from funding four grantees serving 120 children to 36 grantees with the capacity to serve 2,000 children statewide. These programs represent a range of home visiting approaches that meet the needs of diverse communities. HVSA grants have helped programs sustain, expand, or start high-quality and effective home visiting programs in communities where the need is high. While most of the funds support direct services to families, the HVSA also supports technical assistance and evaluation to help ensure the highest quality of services.
The account is jointly administered by the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families and Thrive Washington, a public-private partnership. This cooperation and proven success in delivering robust funding to communities in an efficient manner has helped build broad-based support for maintaining and growing the HVSA.
Reviewed July 2018
