Including Home Visiting Programs in Early Childhood Data Governance Bodies

While home visiting services are an important component of the early childhood (EC) landscape, few states include home visiting data in their early childhood integrated data systems (ECIDS). An ECIDS links together data from different early care and education programs to generate data used to support program and policy decisions. One reason for the lack of home visiting data in many ECIDS is that home visiting programs are often housed in departments of health, while ECIDS and other EC programs, such as preschool and child care assistance programs, are typically overseen by departments of education, human services, and social services.