Senate Bill S2121

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2121

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to providing educa-
tion and outreach programs related to home visiting programs

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to increase awareness and outreach efforts
to those that may be eligible for home visiting services.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 would expand the Health Care and Wellness Education and
Outreach program, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health
(DOH), to include home visiting programs. Specifically, this will result
in the creation of informational material on the availability, eligibil-
ity criteria, and relevant contact information of home visiting programs
across the state.

              

Section 2 would establish the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Home visiting programs provide family support to parents and families
from pregnancy until the time the child enters kindergarten, including
information and support about parenting, children's health and develop-
ment, and explaining healthy coping strategies for stressful parenting
situations. These programs have been proven to demonstrably improve
outcomes for children and their families: There are numerous home visit-
ing programs that can be found throughout the state. These programs
serve families at different stages and have different eligibility crite-
ria. Additionally, only certain home ,visiting programs may be found in
a given area of the State. This bill would serve to make families aware
of this important resource, and provide a bridge to help people get
connected to the appropriate home visiting services that are available
to them. Additionally, this bill is meant to be the first step in an
effort to achieve statewide universal home visiting, ensuring sufficient
services are available, so all eligible families have access to these
incredibly important programs. Currently, it is evident that the avail-
ability of services is woefully inadequate to meet the current need.
According to the New York State Citizen Review Panels' 2 017 annual
report, "Harness the Power of Home Visiting; A Proven and Cost-Effective
Tool to Prevent Child Maltreatment", "only 5% of potentially eligible
children are receiving home visiting." With the plethora of data that's
available identifying the importance of these programs, the State should
take all the necessary steps to expand access and availability across
New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A9970 2019-20

A2626 2021-22

A4570A 2023-24

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Undetermined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.