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Contact: Angie Poss
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Home Visiting Accountability Act passes Senate Floor
Senate Bill 365, Home Visiting Accountability Act, sponsored by Senator John Sapien (D, Bernalillo, Sandoval, Dist. 9) unanimously passed the Senate floor Thursday afternoon. This bill is a follow up from Senator Sapien’s 2011 Early Childhood Education Act. Home visiting was one of seven components included in the 2011 Act.
According to SB 365, Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) would be given authority to increase the accountability and effectiveness of home visiting programs. The nine objectives to increase accountability and effectiveness are:
- Improve prenatal, maternal, infant or child health outcomes, including reducing pre-term births;
- Promote positive parenting practices
- Build healthy parent and child relationships
- Enhance children’s social-emotional and language development
- Support children’s cognitive and physical development
- Improve the health of eligible families
- Provide resources and supports that may help to reduce child maltreatment and injury
- Increase children’s readiness to succeed in school
- Improve coordination of referrals for, and the provision of, other community resources and supports for eligible families.
Senator Sapien said, “This bill is our continued effort to create the early childhood education business plan and model for the state.”
The department would be required to consult with one or more home visiting experts to evaluate the programs and provide an annual report to the Governor, Legislature and the Early Learning Advisory Council. One amendment added in Senate Public Affairs requires CYFD to adopt rules by which to operate the program.
The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
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