Home Visiting
Supporting Alaska families during pregnancy and the early years of a child’s life through voluntary, family-centered, and evidence-based services delivered by trained home visiting professionals
What is home visiting?
Home visiting connects pregnant individuals and families with young children with trained professionals who provide information, support, and connections to resources during pregnancy and the early years of a child’s life.
Home visiting is voluntary and designed to build on the strengths of parents and caregivers. Depending on the program and the needs of the family, home visitors can provide support with:
- Pregnancy and preparing for a new baby
- Child development and developmental milestones
- Parent-child relationships
- Child health and development
- Developmental screening
- Family goals
- School readiness
- Connections to health care and community resources
- Referrals to additional services when needed
Home visiting services may be provided in the family’s home or through other approved service-delivery options, depending on the program and community.
Home Visiting in Alaska
Alaska has multiple home visiting programs serving families across the state. Programs may use different evidence-based models, serve different populations or geographic areas, and receive funding from different federal, state, Tribal, or community sources.
The Alaska Department of Health, Division of Public Health, Section of Women’s, Children’s & Family Health supports home visiting through the Alaska Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program and the Parents as Teachers (PAT) State Grant Program. The Department also supports statewide coordination and workforce development through the Alaska Home Visitor’s Alliance (HVA) and related professional development activities.
Alaska Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program
The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program is a federal program that supports voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services for pregnant people and families with young children.
Alaska MIECHV is administered by the Alaska Department of Health, Division of Public Health, Section of Women’s, Children’s & Family Health.
Alaska MIECHV works with local implementing agencies to provide evidence-based home visiting services in communities identified through the statewide needs assessment. Participating programs use evidence-based home visiting models that meet federal MIECHV requirements.
In addition to direct services to families, Alaska MIECHV supports continuous quality improvement, data collection and evaluation, professional development, coordination among home visiting programs, and efforts to strengthen Alaska’s broader home visiting system.
Alaska MIECHV Home Visiting Models
Alaska MIECHV currently supports evidence-based home visiting using:
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)
NFP connects eligible first-time mothers with specially trained nurse home visitors beginning during pregnancy and continuing through the child’s second birthday.
Parents as Teachers (PAT)
PAT provides families with parent education, developmental information, screening, connections to resources, and individualized support to strengthen parenting and promote healthy child development.
Supporting Alaska’s Home Visiting Workforce
A strong home visiting system requires a supported, knowledgeable, and connected workforce. Alaska supports statewide opportunities for home visitors, supervisors, and program leaders to connect with colleagues, participate in professional development, share resources, and learn from one another.
Alaska Home Visitor’s Alliance
The Alaska Home Visitors Alliance (HVA) is funded by Alaska MIECHV and is a statewide network that brings together home visitors, supervisors, program leaders, and partners representing home visiting programs across Alaska.
The HVA is designed to strengthen Alaska’s home visiting workforce and build connections across programs regardless of home visiting model, organization, geographic location, or funding source.
The Alliance provides opportunities to:
- Connect with other home visiting professionals across Alaska
- Share resources, information, and promising practices
- Identify common workforce needs and challenges
- Participate in professional development
- Strengthen connections across home visiting models and programs
- Support coordination of Alaska’s broader home visiting system
Home Visiting ECHO
Home Visiting ECHO provides an interactive learning opportunity for Alaska’s home visiting workforce. Sessions connect home visitors and other professionals from across the state to share knowledge, discuss topics relevant to their work, learn from subject-matter experts, and learn from one another.
Home Visiting ECHO helps make ongoing professional development and peer learning accessible to home visitors throughout Alaska, including those working in rural and remote communities.
Alaska Home Visiting Summit
The Alaska Home Visiting Summit brings together home visitors, supervisors, program leaders, and partners for statewide professional development, shared learning, and networking.
The Summit provides an opportunity for Alaska’s home visiting workforce to build skills, learn about emerging topics and resources, share experiences across programs and models, and strengthen professional relationships.
How Alaska’s Home Visiting System Connects
Home visiting in Alaska extends beyond any one program, model, or funding source. State-funded, federally funded, Tribal, and community-based programs all contribute to supporting families with young children.
The Alaska Department of Health works with home visiting programs and partners to strengthen connections across this system. This includes supporting workforce development, identifying opportunities for collaboration, improving referral pathways, sharing resources and information, and connecting home visiting with Alaska’s broader early childhood system.
Home visiting is also an important component of Alaska’s Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems work and connects with statewide initiatives focused on developmental screening, family support, early intervention, early care and education, and other services for young children and families.
Find home visiting services
Families interested in home visiting can learn more about programs available in their community: