Washington State Home Visiting Services Account

Washington State has a strong history of supporting home visiting and taking creative policy action to guide that support. The centerpiece is the Home Visiting Services Account (HVSA), which was created in 2010 by the state legislature through a budget proviso. The HVSA leverages public and private dollars to support evidence-based and research-based voluntary home visiting models, as well as promising practices. Its structure ensures diversified funding and promotes long-term sustainability by braiding and blending funding sources.

In SFY 2016, the HSVA combines $11.39 million federal (Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting) funds, $4.45 million state funds, and $1.96 million private funds to support home visiting services. Over the last four years, the HVSA has expanded to serve about 2,100 children in 22 of the states 39 counties. These programs represent a range of home visiting approaches that meet the needs of diverse communities. HVSA grants have helped programs sustain, expand, or start high-quality and effective home visiting programs in communities where the need is high. While most of the accounts funds support direct services to families, the HVSA also supports technical assistance and evaluation to help ensure the highest quality of services.

The account is overseen by the states Department of Early Learning and administered by Thrive Washington, a public-private partnership. This cooperation “ and proven success in delivering robust funding to communities in an efficient manner “ has helped build broad-based support for maintaining and growing the HVSA. Thrive, which raises private funds to match public investment in the account and manages all HVSA awards, has the flexibility to support capacity-building and react nimbly to identified program needs.

For more information about Washingtons Home Visiting Services Account, see http://thrivebyfivewa.org/home-visiting/

Updated January 2016