Five local family-serving organizations will gather with legislators and community members for a first-of-its-kind advocacy day to raise awareness about how home visiting is providing critical support to young families. The event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the T. K. Gregg Community Center in Spartanburg.
Attendees will hear from BirthMatters, Nurse-Family Partnership, Early Head Start, Family Connects, and Count Down to Kindergarten, who all provide home visiting services in the Upstate. Parents, caregivers and professionals will share stories about how they have benefitted from the programs and will be available for interviews immediately following the program.
Local home visiting programs assist families by pairing them with child-serving professionals. Through regular home visits, parents receive practical postpartum support and learn how to improve their family’s health.
The event is hosted by the South Carolina Home Visiting Consortium, a professional community that strengthens and advocates for home visiting initiatives in the state. Children’s Trust of South Carolina convenes the consortium.
“Spartanburg is a leader in home visiting, boasting a unique range of programs,” said Phillip Cease, senior director of policy and advocacy at Children’s Trust. “Our goal is to connect with legislators and the community about the incredible work being done here so that more families can get the support they deserve.”
As South Carolina’s lead agency for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) federal grant since 2010, Children’s Trust supports three evidence-based home visiting models – Healthy Families America, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers – in partnership with 73 implementing agencies across the state.
These voluntary program models serve mothers and young children by providing them with important support and resources. Last year, Children’s Trust helped sites serve 4,149 families through 65,673 home visits, 46,173 of which were virtual.
This event is a part of statewide efforts to reauthorize and expand funding for MIECHV, which expires in December. Advocates and families hope that Congress will reauthorize and expand the program. A bill to reauthorize MIECHV is currently on its way through Congress with bipartisan support.
Recently the Today Show featured a Spartanburg nurse home visitor for helping save a mother’s life. Representatives from that program will be available.
WHAT: Spartanburg Advocacy Day
WHERE: T. K. Gregg Community Center in Spartanburg
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
About Children’s Trust of South Carolina
Children’s Trust is the only statewide organization focused on preventing child abuse and neglect in South Carolina. It leads and supports a network that shares our belief that all children should thrive, live in secure families and be surrounded by supportive communities. Children’s Trust coordinates the state’s efforts for the Strengthening Families Program; Triple P (Positive Parenting Program); S.C. Adverse Childhood Experiences Initiative; Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting; Child Abuse Prevention Month; and KIDS COUNT. For more information, visit scChildren.org.
