To empower more Americans to lift themselves out of poverty, we need to measure the effectiveness of our welfare programs and focus resources on those producing real results.
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To empower more Americans to lift themselves out of poverty, we need to measure the effectiveness of our welfare programs and focus resources on those producing real results. Right now, I am pleased to be working on renewing an evidence-based program with a proven track record of improving outcomes for families in Nebraska and across the country.
The reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) is one of my priorities as chairman of the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee. Proposed by President George W. Bush, this program was fully authorized by Congress in Fiscal Year 2010.
The program helps support state and local efforts to provide voluntary, evidence-based, outcome-focused home visiting services to parents and children living in communities which put them at risk of poor social and health outcomes. Objectives include increasing economic self-sufficiency of families, improving prenatal health and birth outcomes, promoting school readiness of young children, and preventing child abuse
and neglect.
MIECHV is one of the only government programs in which funding is contingent on proven evidence of effectiveness. This is a model we need to replicate across the federal government to ensure taxpayer dollars are focused on programs producing real results for those who need it most. The current lack of accountability in many other government programs is a disservice to both taxpayers and those we are seeking to help.