Developing Policy Questions to Guide Integration of Home Visiting and Other Early Childhood Data

Evidence-based home visiting programs exist in over half of the counties in the United States. Because home visiting programs aim to improve the health, education, and life circumstances of pregnant mothers and their children, they are a critical piece of the early childhood landscape. However, the data collected about these programs are siloed, making it difficult for policymakers to answer questions about programs’ short- and long-term benefits. Data within and across home visiting models are fragmented because each program uses different methods for storing and reporting outcomes. To address this problem, state leaders, with input from early childhood stakeholders, are developing integrated longitudinal data systems to connect data from home visiting and other early childhood programs, which will lead to a better understanding of the collective impact of these investments.