With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 came the creation of the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program funding pool. And with the new funds designated for home visiting programs came a set of federal MIECHV benchmarks with which organizations had to comply in order to continue receiving funding. MIECHV funding is jointly administered by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) in the Department of Health & Human services.
Understanding the MIECHV federal benchmarks and how to make sure your MIECHV program data collection matches the funding requirements is critical for anyone funded under the MIECHV umbrella.
To find out what you need to know to meet the MIECHV benchmarks, read on.
What are the MIECHV benchmarks?
The most significant part of the MIECHV requirements is that they demand recipients can show quantifiable and measurable improvements. Grantees are expected to show improvements in the following areas, known as the federal benchmarks.
- Improved maternal and newborn health;
- Prevention of child injuries, child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment, and reduction of emergency department visits;
- Improvement in school readiness and achievement;
- Reduction in crime or domestic violence;
- Improvements in family economic self-sufficiency; and
- Improvements in the coordination and referrals for other community resources and supports.
In the MIECHV Funding Opportunity Announcement, it states that organizations should include in their applications ?a description of the process to be used in identifying quantifiable, measurable benchmarks established to demonstrate that the program contributes to improvements in the areas specified?.?
The focus on evidence, benchmarks and quantifiable data is one of the key defining characteristics of the MIECHV funding opportunity, and the one that has also caused the most problem for many organizations who are not prepared to properly collect data and track outcomes. However, with the right technology solution in place and a clear understand of how your organization?s mission and programs connect to the MIECHV benchmarks, your organization can be well on its way to receiving MIECHV funding.
How the right technology solution can help you meet federal benchmarks
HIPPY USA is an organization that was uniquely positioned to receive MIECHV funding when the affordable care act was announced. They worked in an area that was included in the MIECHV benchmarks, addressing school readiness among vulnerable populations, and had a successful history of serving the needs of diverse communities. They also were outcomes focused although they realized that they needed a new Management Information System (MIS) in order to meet the federal reporting requirements.
After evaluating technology vendors, HIPPY USA partnered with Social Solutions and began using Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) software to monitor MIECHV benchmarks. Their use of ETO software included:
- Tracking progress on critical benchmarks
- Performing pre and post assessments
- Identifying and tracking key trends
- Identifying effective efforts
- Identifying and monitor outcomes
- Monitoring participant engagement
Click here to read more about how Social Solutions ETO software can help your organization meet data collection and reporting requirements for MIECHV funding.
Conclusion
Although the MIECHV benchmarks left some organizations scrambling to improve their tracking and evaluation processes, many were not surprised at the move towards evidence-based funding. By having a good understanding of how your organization?s mission can help meet one or more of the stated benchmarks, and by adopting the right technology solution for data collection and management, your organization can be eligible to receive funding through your state or local jurisdiction?s MIECHV program.
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Tags: ACF, evidence-based funding, HRSA, MIECHV federal benchmarks
Source: http://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/understanding-the-federal-miechv-benchmarks/
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