Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ Home Visiting Motion
On December 20, 2016, the LA County Board of Supervisors passed a motion for perinatal and early childhood home visiting programs in LA County.
The motion was introduced by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Janice Hahn. The motion directs “the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in partnership with First 5 LA, the LA County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visitation Consortium, the Office of Child Protection, the Children’s Data Network, and the Departments of Health Services, Mental Health, Public Social Services, Children and Family Services, and Probation, to report back in 180 days with a plan to coordinate, enhance, expand, and advocate for high quality home visiting programs to serve more expectant and parenting families so that children are healthy, safe and ready to learn.
Specifically, the plan shall:
Assess how national models and best practices, including those with a single entry portal, may inform or be adapted to improve outcomes for LA County.
Create a coordinated system for home visitation programs that includes a streamlined (and, if possible, electronic) referral pathway and outreach plan to ensure maximum program participation, especially in LA County’s highest risk communities. A single responsible department or organization may be identified to maintain the coordinated referral system.
Identify gaps in services for high-risk populations based on review of effective national models, existing eligibility requirements, and cultural competencies. The plan should develop strategies to address these gaps.
Increase access to voluntary home visitation for families at high risk of involvement with the child welfare system, consistent with the recommendations of the Los Angeles Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection.
Collect, share and analyze a standardized and consistent set of outcome data leveraging the Consortium’s LA County Common Indicators pilot project.
Include a framework to maximize resources by leveraging available funding, and, where possible, identify new and existing, but not maximized, revenue streams (through State and federal advocacy, and opportunities for local investments) to support home visiting expansion.”
