Home Visiting Needs Assessment

This webpage is about the Home Visiting Needs Assessment required in the Health Care Reform law. Home visiting is a service provided in the homes of pregnant women and children from birth to five years and their families. Home visiting can help improve parenting, school readiness, and health. It can help prevent child abuse and neglect.

For the Needs Assessment, Washington State looked at information about factors that may put children at risk for health or learning problems, such as premature birth, poverty, and crime rates. We collected information about current home visiting programs and substance abuse services within the state. The Department of Health and its partners are using this information to help decide the best use of resources for home visiting services in Washington State.

You will find the most current information on Washington State's Home Visiting Needs Assessment

Home Visiting Needs Assessment Report

The Home Visiting Needs Assessment was submitted to the federal government in September 2010.

Since the Needs Assessment was submitted, we have incorporated additional information from stakeholders in the original document and corrected errors. Below is a list of the changes we made.

  1. Pierce County subcounty areas are now correctly identified as county council districts.
  2. Table headings for Table 5: Home Visiting Needs Assessment Indicators by Race/ Ethnicity (Unemployment/High School Dropout Rate, and Third grade Reading WASL section) now correctly show that Hispanic data could be included in any of the categories.
  3. Table 1: Population and Births (Count), Washington State 2008:
    1. Pierce County data for Medicaid Primips less than 25 years old is now correct. (A primip is a woman who is giving birth for the first time.)
    2. State Total for Medicaid births and Medicaid Primips less than 25 years old is now correct.
    3. King County subcounty area Ages 1-8 data is now correct.
  4. Table C-1: Home Visiting Program Information now shows that Early Family Support Services and Early Intervention Program are voluntary services. This is based on updated information from Department of Social and Health Services, Children's Administration.
  5. Table C-1: Nurse-Family Partnership now correctly shows that Klickitat County did not begin serving clients until 2010. The following were updated to reflect this change:
    1. Table C-11: Nurse-Family Partnership state total.
    2. Table B-3: Summary - Coverage Data for Likely Evidence-Based Practices, state total for Number of Pregnant Women and Children Served (2009).
    3. Table B-4: Summary Coverage Data for All Home Visiting; state total for Families Receiving Likely Evidence Based Practice Home Visiting.
    4. Narrative, page 29, Number of Individuals and Families Receiving Services.

Needs Assessment Executive Summary: Executive Summary – Washington State Home Visiting Needs Assessment (PDF)

Revised Needs Assessment: Washington State Home Visiting Needs Assessment (PDF) – Revised January 2011

Revised Needs Assessment Appendices: Washington State Home Visiting Needs Assessment Appendices (PDF) – Revised January 2011

Home Visiting Planning, Coordination and Implementation

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) is the lead for the current phase of the federal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting grant. For more information see the DEL Home Visiting Website.

To contact us, please send your email to: wahvna@doh.wa.gov.