California Home Visiting Program (CHVP)

The birth of a baby is an exciting time. It can also be overwhelming, especially for those without a positive parenting model or support network to guide them. The California Home Visiting Program (CHVP) is designed for overburdened families who are at risk for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment, domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness. Home visiting gives parents the tools and know-how to independently raise their children. It’s a preventive intervention focused on promoting positive parenting and child development. Decades of research on home visiting shows that home visits by a trained professional during pregnancy and in the first few years of life improves the lives of children and families by preventing child abuse and neglect, supporting positive parenting, improving maternal and child health, and promoting child development and school readiness. Giving children a solid start in their first few years of life increases the opportunity for a brighter, more prosperous future.

Program Profile

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About Us

OUR GOAL: To promote maternal health and well-being, improve infant and child health and development, strengthen family functioning and cultivate strong communities.

WHO WE SERVE: Pregnant and newly parenting families who have one or more of the following risk factors: domestic violence, inadequate income, unstable housing, education less than 12 years, substance abuse, and depression and/or mental illness.

SERVICE DELIVERY: Services are provided by a Public Health Nurse or paraprofessional in the family’s home. Services begin prenatally or right after the birth of a baby, are offered voluntarily and continue primarily to age 3. The number of visits is based on need.

OUTCOMES: Research has shown that evidence-based home visiting programs produce positive outcomes that save taxpayer dollars by reducing societal costs associated with intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, youth crime, substance abuse and need for government assistance.

FINANCING: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 established the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program , which provides funds for evidence-based home visiting in every state.

Program Services: Focused on Relationships

Home visiting services are offered in the family’s home where teachable moments naturally arise. Working one-on-one with a home visiting professional, families can ask questions, discuss concerns and gain valuable information. Home visitors build relationships as they provide services tailored to each family’s needs, such as:

Teaching parenting skills and modeling parenting techniques
Providing information and guidance on a range of topics, such as safe sleep position, injury prevention and nutrition
Providing referrals to address substance abuse, family violence and maternal depression
Screening children for developmental delays and facilitating intervention
Promoting early learning in the home that emphasizes positive parenting and building a language-rich environment

Contact Local CHVP Directors

A Collaborative Approach

A goal of CHVP is to work with home visiting sites to improve early childhood systems of services to ensure pregnant and parenting families receive the services they need. CHVP has developed processes that collect and use information from local sites (see “Where We Are” at left) to inform efforts by state-level agency workgroups to understand and help meet the needs of CHVP families.

CHVP Funds Two Evidence-Based Home Visiting Models

CHVP local health jurisdictions serve clients using either the Healthy Families America or Nurse-Family Partnership home visiting model, based on the specific needs of the region

Healthy Families America

Serves low-income families who must be enrolled within the first three months after an infant‘s birth
A trained paraprofessional provides one-on-one home visits to parents and their babies primarily through three years postpartum
Uses a strength-based approach
Uses motivational interviewing to build on the parents’ own interests

Nurse-Family Partnership

Serves low-income, first-time moms who must be enrolled by the 28th week of pregnancy
A Public Health Nurse provides one-on-one home visits to parents and their babies through two years postpartum
Uses a strength-based approach
Uses motivational interviewing to build on the parents’ own interests

Healthy Families America | Nurse-Family Partnership

Where We Are

California Home Visiting Program (CHVP) oversees implementation of 23 evidence-based home visiting programs throughout California - 15 NFP sites and 8 HFA sites.

Site Map Details (PDF) | Local CHVP Directors List

External Resources

Program Resources

Data and Reports

Education Resources

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California Home Visiting Program (CHVP)

Program Profile

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