Updated: May 18, 2023
The COVID-19 public health emergency expired as of May 11, 2023. With the end of the public health emergency, specific flexibilities offered for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260) have ended. MIECHV awardees may continue to use grant funding for reasonable, allocable, and allowable uses outlined in 42 U.S.C. § 711 (Title V, § 511 of the Social Security Act, as amended) and program guidance. These may include reasonable expenses to support the implementation of virtual or hybrid home visiting services to ensure eligible families can participate in evidence-based home visiting programs. 42 U.S.C. § 711 (Title V, § 511 of the Social Security Act, as amended), which authorizes the MIECHV Program, defines a virtual home visit as “a visit conducted solely by use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies.”
Please note that the end of the public health emergency does not impact allowable uses of funding for MIECHV awards made with American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) funding. HRSA encourages MIECHV awardees to continue to prioritize using ARP award funding to address the immediate and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families.
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Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
FAQs for Home Visiting Grantees
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260). This bill provided new authorities to MIECHV awardees to assist in their response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The law allowed awardees to use MIECHV funds during the COVID-19 public health emergency period to:
- Train home visitors in conducting virtual home visits and in emergency preparedness and response planning for families
- Acquire the technological means as needed to conduct and support a virtual home visit for families enrolled in the program
- Provide emergency supplies to families enrolled in the program, regardless of whether the provision of such supplies is within the scope of the approved program, such as diapers, formula, non-perishable food, water, hand soap, and hand sanitizer
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, specified that the additional authorities are available “during the COVID–19 public health emergency period.” The public health emergency ended on May 11, 2023, so these authorities are no longer available.
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) (ARP) was signed into law. ARP appropriated $150 million for MIECHV awardees to address the needs of expectant parents and families with young children during the COVID-19 public health emergency. ARP identifies seven categories of required uses of funding, which are service delivery, hazard pay or other staff costs, home visitor training, technology, emergency supplies, diaper bank coordination, and prepaid grocery cards.
The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency does not impact awards made with ARP funding.
ARP Awards
On May 10, 2021, HRSA awarded approximately $40 million in funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) to 56 states, territories, and nonprofit organizations currently funded through the MIECHV Program to support home visiting activities that address immediate needs of parents, children, and families related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
On December 1, 2021, HRSA awarded approximately $81 million in additional ARP funds to continue to support MIECHV recipients in responding to ongoing COVID-19-related needs, including the expansion of services for families residing in at-risk communities as identified in the current approved needs assessment update. The remaining ARP funds will be used to support research, evaluation and technical assistance activities, tribal awards, and competitive innovation awards.
More information on the MIECHV ARP awards, including program guidance and Frequently Asked Questions, is available on the MIECHV Technical Assistance webpage.
FAQs for Home Visiting Grantees
With the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, how can MIECHV awardees spend formula award funding?
MIECHV awardees may continue to use formula award funding for reasonable, allocable, and allowable uses within the scope of their project. These may include reasonable expenses to support the implementation of virtual or hybrid services to ensure eligible families can participate in evidence-based home visiting programs. 42 U.S.C. § 711 (Title V, § 511 of the Social Security Act, as amended), which authorizes the MIECHV Program, defines a virtual home visit as “a visit conducted solely by use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies.”
MIECHV awardees may reach out to their HRSA Project Officer and Grants Management Specialist with any questions.
With the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, how can MIECHV awardees continue to support families affected by COVID-19?
HRSA urges awardees to prioritize using American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) award funding to address the immediate and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families, consistent with the seven categories of required uses of funding (Section 9101 of P.L. 117-2): service delivery, hazard pay or other staff costs, home visitor training, technology, emergency supplies, diaper bank coordination, and prepaid grocery cards.
Please note that the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency does not impact awards made with ARP funding.
More information on the MIECHV ARP awards, including program guidance and Frequently Asked Questions, is available on the MIECHV Technical Assistance webpage.
MIECHV awardees may reach out to their HRSA Project Officer and Grants Management Specialist with any questions.
With the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, can MIECHV award funding support virtual home visiting services?
Yes, MIECHV award funding may continue to support virtual or hybrid home visiting services per Section 511 of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328). 42 U.S.C. § 711 (Title V, § 511 of the Social Security Act, as amended), which authorizes the MIECHV Program, defines a virtual home visit as “a visit conducted solely by use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies.”
Should well-child telehealth visits be included in performance reporting?
Well-child telehealth visits completed according to the AAP schedule can be included as meeting the numerator criteria for performance measure 4. The AAP has issued guidance on providing well-child care via telehealth during COVID-19. We recognize that not all providers may offer well-child visits, in person or via telehealth, during this time. Awardees should continue to report on well-child visit completion following directions and information in the Form 2 toolkit (PDF - 1 MB) and FAQs (PDF - 623 KB).
How should MIECHV awardees report virtual screenings for the purposes of annual performance measurement reporting?
All families screened with a validated tool should be included in the numerator and denominator per the measure definitions (Measure 3, Measure 12, and Measure 14). MIECHV awardees should consult with tool developers to determine appropriateness and criteria for virtual/remote screening. Please note that awardees should not report the number families screened virtually separately; however, awardees may voluntarily provide additional information related to virtual screenings in the comments section. The same information applies for reporting of virtual observations for Measure 10 (Parent-Child Interaction).
Should postpartum telehealth visits be included in Performance Reporting?
Postpartum telehealth visits that meet the criteria defined in Form 2 (PDF - 489 KB) can be included in the numerator for measure 5. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women connect with their health care provider to discuss how their postpartum care visits may change during this time, including a shift to telemedicine or telehealth.