Data, Evaluation, & Continuous Quality Improvement

HRSA requires Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program grantees to collect certain data and report on their program’s performance through annual and quarterly performance reporting, to develop and implement plans for continuous quality improvement (CQI), and to meet certain statutory requirements related to demonstrating improvement in at least four of six benchmark areas and implementing data exchange standards for improved interoperability. MIECHV also promotes rigorous evaluation at the national and local levels and supports research infrastructure in the field.

Annual Performance Reporting

HRSA requires MIECHV Program grantees to collect and report data on their program’s performance for demographic, service utilizations, select clinical indicators of program participants and related to six statutorily defined benchmark areas. The MIECHV performance measurement system includes a total of 19 measures across the six benchmark areas:

  • Improvements in maternal, newborn, and child health;
  • Prevention of child injuries, child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment and reductions of emergency room visits;
  • Improvements in school readiness and child academic achievement;
  • Reductions in crime or domestic violence;
  • Improvements in family economic self-sufficiency; and
  • Improvements in the coordination and referrals for other community resources and supports.

Summary of MIECHV Program Performance Measures (PDF - 233 KB)

Forms

Resource Documents

Training Videos

Webinars

Quarterly Performance Reporting

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting grantees must submit quarterly performance reports which serve to assist HRSA in monitoring grants and providing oversight.

The forms include a select number of service utilization and staffing measures, which have the potential to change frequently. HRSA requires additional benchmark performance data from grantees that have not demonstrated improvement in four of the six benchmark areas and are currently on an Outcome Improvement Plan.

Home Visiting Budget Assistance Tool (HV-BAT)

Beginning in the FY 2021 project period, MIECHV awardees are required to collect and submit data using the Home Visiting Budget Assistance Tool (HV-BAT) once every three years. The HV-BAT is a tool for MIECHV awardees and local implementing agencies (LIAs) to collect and report comprehensive home visiting program costs incurred by LIAs during a 12-month period. HV-BAT data can help MIECHV awardees and LIAs:

  • Monitor sub-recipient program operations
  • Develop budgets and forecast the financial impact of expanding services
  • Conduct economic evaluations
  • Inform alternative funding strategies

Resource Documents

Additional HV-BAT technical assistance resources are available for MIECHV awardees by contacting their MIECHV Technical Assistance Resource Center (TARC) TA Specialist team.

Forms

Continuous Quality Improvement

Demonstration of Improvement

Data Exchange Standards

Research and Evaluation

From its inception, the MIECHV Program has adopted a learning agenda approach that focuses research and evaluation efforts on improving program effectiveness and building the knowledge base. In addition to the program monitoring and improvement efforts related to performance measurement and CQI, MIECHV promotes rigorous evaluation at the national and local levels and supports research infrastructure in the field.

State-Led Evaluation

HRSA supports awardees in conducting rigorous evaluations of their programs to build the evidence of effectiveness on promising approach home visiting models, examine the replication of evidence-based home visiting models across new settings and contexts, answer questions of local salience, and use empirical information to improve service delivery.  State-Led Evaluations

Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE)

ACF, in collaboration with HRSA, is overseeing a large-scale, random assignment evaluation of the effectiveness of the MIECHV Program. The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Evaluation (MIHOPE)

Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Home Visiting Research and Development Platform

On May 28, 2017, HRSA awarded $1.3 million to Johns Hopkins University to support a cooperative agreement for the Home Visiting Research and Development (R&D) Platform.

This funding aims to support one transdisciplinary research network for scientific collaboration and infrastructure building for innovative home visiting research. The research network will produce meaningful impacts that will significantly extend the evidence-base of home visiting.

The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program responds to the diverse needs of children and families in at-risk communities and must carry out a continuous program of research and evaluation activities to increase knowledge about the implementation and effectiveness of home visiting programs.

The goal of the Home Visiting R&D Platform is to plan for, develop, and sustain a R&D network of early childhood development and learning researchers and practitioners who will frame, implement, and report on innovative, transdisciplinary research related to precision interventions to improve meaningful outcomes for at-risk families and communities.

Home Visiting Applied Research Collaborative

The Home Visiting Applied Research Collaborative (HARC) is a network of early childhood researchers and practitioners who frame, implement, and report on innovative, transdisciplinary research related to precision home visiting interventions to improve meaningful outcomes for at-risk families and communities. Home Visiting Applied Research Collaborative exit disclaimer icon

*Note: Persons using assistive technology may not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please email Elizabeth Firsten or call (215) 861-4368.

    Date Last Reviewed:  April 2021


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