II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2412 

To expand Parents as Teachers programs and other programs of early 

childhood home visitation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2004 

Mr. BOND (for himself and Mr. TALENT) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To expand Parents as Teachers programs and other programs of early childhood home visitation, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Education Begins at 

5 Home Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) the home is the first and most important 

2 learning environment for children, and parents are 

3 their children’s first and most influential teacher; 

4 (2) through parent education and family sup5 port, we can promote parents’ ability to enhance 

6 their children’s development from birth until entry 

7 into kindergarten thereby helping parents to prepare 

8 their children for success in school; 

9 (3) undiagnosed and unaddressed develop10 mental and health problems can impede overall child 

11 development and school readiness; 

12 (4) all parents deserve and can benefit from— 

13 (A) research-based information regarding 

14 child development; 

15 (B) enrichment opportunities with their 

16 children; and 

17 (C) early opportunities to become involved 

18 with their community and schools; and 

19 (5) early childhood home visitation leads to 

20 positive outcomes for children and families, including 

21 readiness for school, improved child health and de22 velopment, positive parenting practices, and reduc23 tions in child maltreatment. 

24 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

25 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 
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1 (1) To enable States to deliver services under 

2 Parents as Teachers programs, or other programs of 

3 early childhood home visitation, to pregnant women 

4 and parents of children from birth until entry into 

5 kindergarten in order to promote parents’ ability to 

6 support their children’s optimal cognitive, language, 

7 social-emotional, and physical development. 

8 (2) To improve Early Head Start programs car9 ried out under section 645A of the Head Start Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 9840a). 

11 (3) To expand Parents as Teachers programs, 

12 or other programs of early childhood home visita13 tion, so as to more effectively reach and serve fami14 lies with English language learners. 

15 (4) To expand Parents as Teachers programs, 

16 or other programs of early childhood home visita17 tion, so as to more effectively reach and serve fami18 lies serving in the military. 

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ELIGIBLE FAMILY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

22 family’’ means— 

23 (A) a woman who is pregnant; or 
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1 (B) a parent or primary caregiver of a 

2 child who is from birth until entry into kinder3 garten. 

4 (2) HOME VISITATION.—The term ‘‘home visi5 tation’’ means services provided in the permanent or 

6 temporary residence, or in other familiar sur7 roundings, of the individual receiving such services. 

8 (3) SECRETARY.—Except as provided in section 

9 8, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 

10 Health and Human Services. 

11 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

12 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

14 SEC. 5. STATE GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME VISI15 TATION. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, in collabora17 tion with the Secretary of Education, shall make grants 

18 to States to enable such States to establish or expand Par19 ents as Teachers programs, or other programs of early 

20 childhood home visitation, as specified under subsection 

21 (f). Each grant shall consist of the allotment determined 

22 for a State under subsection (b). 

23 (b) DETERMINATION OF RESERVATIONS; AMOUNT OF

24 ALLOTMENTS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
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1 (1) RESERVATIONS FROM APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 From the total amount made available to carry out 

3 this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall re4 serve— 

5 (A) 3 percent for an independent evalua6 tion of the activities carried out under this Act, 

7 as specified in section 9; 

8 (B) not more than 5 percent for Federal 

9 administrative costs; and 

10 (C) 2 percent for training and technical as11 sistance for States. 

12 (2) STATE ALLOTMENTS FOR EARLY CHILD13 HOOD HOME VISITATION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with 

15 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall allot 

16 among each of the States the total amount 

17 made available to carry out this section for any 

18 fiscal year and not reserved under paragraph 

19 (1), to carry out early childhood home visitation 

20 in accordance with this section. 

21 (B) DETERMINATION OF STATE ALLOT22 MENTS.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

24 (ii), the Secretary shall allot the amount 

25 made available under subparagraph (A) for 
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1 a fiscal year among the States in propor2 tion to the number of children, aged from 

3 birth to 5 years, who reside within the 

4 State, compared to the number of such in5 dividuals who reside in all such States for 

6 that fiscal year. 

7 (ii) EXCEPTION.—No State receiving 

8 an allotment under clause (i) may receive 

9 more than $20,000,000. 

10 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this section $400,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

13 years 2005 through 2007. 

14 (c) STATE GRANT APPLICATIONS.—A State that de15 sires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

16 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

17 and containing such information as the Secretary may re18 quire. The application shall contain the following informa19 tion: 

20 (1) An assurance that the Governor of the 

21 State has designated a lead State agency, such as 

22 the State educational agency or the State health and 

23 human services agency, to carry out the activities 

24 under this section. 
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1 (2) An assurance that the State will, if re2 quested, participate in the independent evaluation 

3 under section 9. 

4 (3) An assurance that the State will reserve 10 

5 percent of the grant funds for training and technical 

6 assistance of staff of programs of early childhood 

7 home visitation. 

8 (4) The results of a statewide needs assessment 

9 that describes— 

10 (A) the quality and capacity of existing 

11 programs of early childhood home visitation in 

12 the State; 

13 (B) the number and types of eligible fami14 lies who are receiving services under such pro15 grams; and 

16 (C) the gaps in early childhood home visi17 tation in the State. 

18 (5) A State plan containing the following: 

19 (A) A description of the State’s strategy to 

20 establish or expand Parents as Teachers pro21 grams, or other programs of early childhood 

22 home visitation, to serve all eligible families in 

23 the State. 

24 (B) A description of the Parents as Teach25 ers programs, or other programs of early child-
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1 hood home visitation, that will be supported by 

2 a grant under this section. 

3 (C) A description of how the proposed pro4 gram of early childhood home visitation will 

5 promote positive parenting skills and children’s 

6 early learning and development. 

7 (D) A description of how the proposed pro8 gram of early childhood home visitation will in9 corporate the authorized activities described in 

10 subsection (f). 

11 (E) How the lead State agency will build 

12 on and promote coordination among existing 

13 programs of early childhood home visitation in 

14 an effort to promote an array of home visitation 

15 that ensures more eligible families are being 

16 served and are getting the most appropriate 

17 services to meet their needs. 

18 (F) How the lead State agency will pro19 mote channels of communication between staff 

20 of programs of early childhood home visitation 

21 and staff of other early childhood education 

22 programs, such as Head Start programs carried 

23 out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

24 et seq.) and Early Head Start programs carried 

25 out under section 645A of such Act, preschool 
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1 programs, and child care programs, to facilitate 

2 the coordination of services for eligible families. 

3 (G) How the lead State agency will provide 

4 training and technical assistance to staff of pro5 grams of early childhood home visitation in6 volved in activities under this section to more 

7 effectively meet the needs of the eligible families 

8 served. 

9 (H) How the lead State agency will evalu10 ate the activities supported under this section in 

11 order to demonstrate outcomes related to the 

12 enhancement of— 

13 (i) parent knowledge of early learning 

14 and development; 

15 (ii) positive parenting practices re16 lated to early learning and development; 

17 and 

18 (iii) children’s cognitive, language, so19 cial-emotional, and physical development. 

20 (I) Such other information as the Sec21 retary may require. 

22 (d) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

24 an application under this section based on the qual-
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1 ity of the application and the recommendations of a 

2 peer review panel, as described in paragraph (2). 

3 (2) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—The peer review 

4 panel shall include not less than— 

5 (A) 3 individuals who are experts in the 

6 field of home visitation; 

7 (B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 

8 childhood development; and 

9 (C) 1 individual with experience imple10 menting a statewide program of early childhood 

11 home visitation. 

12 (e) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Grants made under this 

13 section shall be for a period of no more than 3 years. 

14 (f) STATE USES OF FUNDS.—Each State that re15 ceives a grant under this section shall— 

16 (1) provide to eligible families voluntary early 

17 childhood home visitation, on not less frequently 

18 than a monthly basis with greater frequency of serv19 ices for those eligible families identified with addi20 tional needs, through the implementation of Parents 

21 as Teachers programs, or other programs of early 

22 childhood home visitation, that provides parents 

23 with— 
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1 (A) knowledge of age appropriate child de2 velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo3 tional, and motor domains; 

4 (B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 

5 age-appropriate child behaviors; 

6 (C) knowledge of health and wellness 

7 issues for children and parents; 

8 (D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 

9 parenting practices; 

10 (E) skills to interact with their child to en11 hance age-appropriate development; 

12 (F) skills to recognize and seek help for 

13 health issues and developmental delays; and 

14 (G) activities designed to help parents be15 come full partners in the education of their chil16 dren; 

17 (2) offer annual health, vision, hearing, and de18 velopmental screening for children from birth until 

19 entry into kindergarten; 

20 (3) provide referrals for eligible families, as 

21 needed, to additional resources available in the com22 munity, such as center-based early education pro23 grams, child care services, health or mental health 

24 services, family literacy programs, employment agen25 cies, and social services; 
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1 (4) offer group meetings, on not less frequently 

2 than a monthly basis, for eligible families that— 

3 (A) further enhance the information, ac4 tivities, and skill-building addressed during 

5 home visitation; and 

6 (B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 

7 with and support each other; 

8 (5) reserve 10 percent of the grant funds to 

9 provide training and technical assistance, directly or 

10 through contract, to early childhood home visitation 

11 and early childhood care and education staff relating 

12 to— 

13 (A) effective methods of conducting parent 

14 education, home visiting, and promoting quality 

15 early childhood development; 

16 (B) the relationship of health and well17 being of pregnant women to prenatal and early 

18 childhood development; 

19 (C) early childhood development with re20 spect to children from birth until entry into kin21 dergarten; 

22 (D) methods to help parents promote 

23 emergent literacy in their children from birth 

24 until entry into kindergarten; 
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1 (E) health, vision, hearing, and develop2 mental screenings; 

3 (F) strategies for helping eligible families 

4 with special needs or those eligible families cop5 ing with crisis; 

6 (G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 

7 qualified staff; 

8 (H) increasing services for underserved 

9 populations; 

10 (I) methods to help parents effectively re11 spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 

12 and 

13 (J) implementation of ongoing program 

14 quality improvement and evaluation of activities 

15 and outcomes; 

16 (6) ensure coordination of programs of early 

17 childhood home visitation, early childhood education 

18 and care, and early intervention, through an existing 

19 or created State-level early childhood coordinating 

20 body that includes— 

21 (A) representatives from relevant State 

22 agencies; 

23 (B) representatives from State Head Start 

24 Associations; 
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1 (C) the State official with responsibility for 

2 carrying out activities under part C of the Indi3 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

4 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

5 (D) the State official with responsibility 

6 for carrying out activities under section 619 of 

7 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1419); 

9 (E) representatives from child care re10 source and referral State offices; 

11 (F) representatives from Parents as 

12 Teachers State affiliate offices; 

13 (G) representatives from other programs of 

14 early childhood home visitation; and 

15 (7) not expend more than 10 percent of the 

16 amount of grant funds received under this section 

17 for the administration of the grant, including plan18 ning, administration, evaluation, and annual report19 ing. 

20 (g) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State is entitled 

21 to receive its full allotment of funds under this section for 

22 any fiscal year if the Secretary finds that the aggregate 

23 expenditures within the State for Parents as Teachers pro24 grams, or other programs of early childhood home visita25 tion, for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which 
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1 the determination is made was not less than 100 percent 

2 of such aggregate expenditures for the second fiscal year 

3 preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is 

4 made. 

5 (h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each State that 

6 receives a grant under this section shall submit an annual 

7 report to the Secretary regarding the State’s progress in 

8 addressing the purposes of this Act. Such report shall in9 clude, at a minimum, a description of— 

10 (1) the types of activities funded under the 

11 grant; 

12 (2) the children and eligible families served by 

13 the programs funded under the grant; 

14 (3) the research-based instruction, materials, 

15 and activities being used in the activities funded 

16 under the grant; 

17 (4) the effectiveness of the training and ongoing 

18 professional development provided— 

19 (A) to staff supported under the grant; 

20 and 

21 (B) to the broader early childhood commu22 nity; and 

23 (5) beginning at the end of the second year of 

24 the grant, the results of evaluations described in 

25 subsection (c)(4)(G). 
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1 SEC. 6. STRENGTHENING EARLY HEAD START HOME VISI2 TATION. 

3 Section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 9840a) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘provide 

7 services to parents to support their role as par8 ents’’ and inserting ‘‘provide additional services 

9 to parents to support their role as parents (in10 cluding parenting skills training and training in 

11 basic child development)’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including home14 based services)’’ after ‘‘with services’’; and 

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and family support 

16 services’’ after ‘‘health services’’; 

17 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), 

18 and (9) as paragraphs (9), (10), and (11), re19 spectively; and 

20 (D) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(7) develop and implement a systematic proce23 dure for transitioning children and parents from an 

24 Early Head Start program into a Head Start pro25 gram or another local early childhood education pro26 gram; 
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1 ‘‘(8) establish channels of communication be2 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 

3 of Head Start programs or other local early child4 hood education programs, to facilitate the coordina5 tion of programs;’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (g)(2)(B), by striking clause 

7 (iv) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop9 ment and personnel enhancement activi10 ties, including the provision of funds to re11 cipients of grants under subsection (a), re12 lating to effective methods of conducting 

13 parent education, home visiting, and pro14 moting quality early childhood develop15 ment.’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(h) STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) HOME VISITOR STAFF.— 

19 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS.—In order to further en20 hance the quality of home visiting services pro21 vided to families of children participating in 

22 home-based, center-based, or combination pro23 gram options under this subchapter, the Sec24 retary shall establish standards for training, 

25 qualifications, and the conduct of home visits 
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1 for home visitor staff in Early Head Start pro2 grams. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The standards for 

4 training, qualifications, and the conduct of 

5 home visits shall include content related to— 

6 ‘‘(i) structured child-focused home vis7 iting that promotes parents’ ability to sup8 port the child’s cognitive, social, emotional, 

9 and physical development; 

10 ‘‘(ii) effective strengths-based parent 

11 education, including methods to encourage 

12 parents as their child’s first teachers; 

13 ‘‘(iii) early childhood development 

14 with respect to children from birth through 

15 age 3; 

16 ‘‘(iv) methods to help parents promote 

17 emergent literacy in their children from 

18 birth through age 3; 

19 ‘‘(v) health, vision, hearing, and devel20 opmental screenings; 

21 ‘‘(vi) strategies for helping families 

22 coping with crisis; and 

23 ‘‘(vii) the relationship of health and 

24 well-being of pregnant women to prenatal 

25 and early child development.’’. 
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1 SEC. 7. TARGETED GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

2 VISITATION FOR FAMILIES WITH ENGLISH 

3 LANGUAGE LEARNERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collaboration 

5 with the Secretary of Education, shall make grants, on 

6 a competitive basis, to eligible applicants to enable such 

7 applicants to support and expand local efforts to deliver 

8 services under the Parents as Teachers programs, or other 

9 programs of early childhood home visitation, to eligible 

10 families with English language learners. 

11 (b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—In this section, the term 

12 ‘‘eligible applicant’’ means— 

13 (1) 1 or more local educational agencies (as de14 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 

16 and 

17 (2) 1 or more public or private community18 based organizations or agencies that serve eligible 

19 families and are capable of establishing and imple20 menting programs of early childhood home visita21 tion. 

22 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible applicant that de23 sires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

24 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

25 and containing such information as the Secretary may re26 quire. The application shall include a description of— 
20 

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1 (1) the results of a communitywide needs as2 sessment that describes— 

3 (A) community demographics dem4 onstrating the need for outreach and services to 

5 eligible families with English language learners; 

6 (B) the quality, capacity, and existing pro7 grams of early childhood home visitation for eli8 gible families with English language learners; 

9 (C) the gaps in programs of early child10 hood home visitation for eligible families with 

11 English language learners; and 

12 (D) the type of program of early childhood 

13 home visitation necessary to address the gaps 

14 identified; 

15 (2) the program of early childhood home visita16 tion that will be supported by the grant under this 

17 section; 

18 (3) how the proposed program of early child19 hood home visitation will promote positive parenting 

20 skills and children’s early learning and development; 

21 (4) how the proposed program of early child22 hood home visitation will incorporate the authorized 

23 activities described in subsection (f); 

24 (5) how services provided through a grant 

25 under this section will use materials that are geared 
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1 toward eligible families with English language learn2 ers; 

3 (6) how the activities under this section will be 

4 coordinated with existing programs of early child5 hood home visitation, if such programs exist in the 

6 community, in an effort to promote an array of 

7 home visitation that ensures more eligible families 

8 with English language learners are being served and 

9 are getting the most appropriate services to meet 

10 their needs; 

11 (7) how the program will ensure that— 

12 (A) eligible families with English language 

13 learners are linked to schools; and 

14 (B) the activities under this section will 

15 support the preparation of children for school; 

16 (8) how channels of communication will be es17 tablished between staff of programs of early child18 hood home visitation and staff of other early child19 hood education programs, such as Head Start pro20 grams carried out under the Head Start Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) and Early Head Start pro22 grams carried out under section 645A of such Act, 

23 preschool programs, and child care programs, to fa24 cilitate the coordination of services for eligible fami25 lies with English language learners; 
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1 (9) how eligible families with English language 

2 learners will be recruited and retained to receive 

3 services under this section; 

4 (10) how training and technical assistance will 

5 help the staff of programs of early childhood home 

6 visitation involved in activities under this section to 

7 more effectively serve eligible families with English 

8 language learners; 

9 (11) how the eligible applicant will evaluate the 

10 activities supported under this section in order to 

11 demonstrate outcomes related to the— 

12 (A) increase in number of eligible families 

13 with English language leaners served by pro14 grams of early childhood home visitation; 

15 (B) enhancement of participating parents’ 

16 knowledge of early learning and development; 

17 (C) enhancement of positive parenting 

18 practices related to early learning and develop19 ment; and 

20 (D) enhancement of children’s cognitive, 

21 language, social-emotional, and physical devel22 opment; and 

23 (12) such other information as the Secretary 

24 may require. 

25 (d) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 

2 applicants for funding under this section based on 

3 the quality of the applications and the recommenda4 tions of a peer review panel, as described in para5 graph (2). 

6 (2) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—The peer review 

7 panel shall include not less than— 

8 (A) 2 individuals who are experts in the 

9 field of home visitation; 

10 (B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 

11 childhood development; and 

12 (C) 2 individuals who are experts in serv13 ing eligible families with English language 

14 learners. 

15 (e) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Grants made under this 

16 section shall be for a period of no more than 3 years. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible appli18 cant that receives a grant under this section shall carry 

19 out the following activities: 

20 (1) Providing to eligible families with English 

21 language learners voluntary early childhood home 

22 visitation, on not less frequently than a monthly 

23 basis, through the implementation of Parents as 

24 Teachers programs, or other programs of early 
24 

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1 childhood home visitation, that provides parents 

2 with— 

3 (A) knowledge of age appropriate child de4 velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo5 tional, and motor domains; 

6 (B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 

7 age-appropriate child behaviors; 

8 (C) knowledge of health and wellness 

9 issues for children and parents; 

10 (D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 

11 parenting practices; 

12 (E) skills to interact with their child to en13 hance age-appropriate development; 

14 (F) skills to recognize and seek help for 

15 health issues and developmental delays; and 

16 (G) activities designed to help parents be17 come full partners in the education of their chil18 dren. 

19 (2) Conducting annual health, vision, hearing, 

20 and developmental screening for participating chil21 dren who are English language learners. 

22 (3) Providing referrals for participating eligible 

23 families with English language learners, as needed, 

24 to additional resources available in the community, 

25 such as center-based early education programs, child 
25 

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1 care services, health or mental health services, family 

2 literacy programs, employment agencies, and social 

3 services. 

4 (4) Offering group meetings, on not less fre5 quently than a monthly basis, for eligible families 

6 with English language learners that— 

7 (A) further enhance the information, ac8 tivities, and skill-building addressed during 

9 home visitation; 

10 (B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 

11 with and support each other; and 

12 (C) address challenges facing eligible fami13 lies with English language learners. 

14 (5) Providing training and technical assistance 

15 to early childhood home visitation and early child16 hood care and education staff relating to— 

17 (A) effective service to eligible families 

18 with English language learners; 

19 (B) effective methods of conducting parent 

20 education, home visiting, and promoting quality 

21 early childhood development; 

22 (C) the relationship of health and well23 being of pregnant women to prenatal and early 

24 child development; 
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1 (D) early childhood development with re2 spect to children from birth until entry into kin3 dergarten; 

4 (E) methods to help parents promote 

5 emergent literacy in their children from birth 

6 until entry into kindergarten; 

7 (F) implementing strategies for helping eli8 gible families with English language learners 

9 coping with a crisis; 

10 (G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 

11 qualified staff; 

12 (H) increasing services for underserved eli13 gible families with English language learners; 

14 (I) methods to help parents effectively re15 spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 

16 and 

17 (J) implementation of ongoing program 

18 quality improvement and evaluation of activities 

19 and outcomes. 

20 (6) Coordinating existing programs of early 

21 childhood home visitation in order to effectively and 

22 efficiently meet the needs of more eligible families 

23 with English language learners. 

24 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

25 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 
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1 and not supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available 

2 for carrying out the activities described in this section. 

3 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2005 through 

6 2007. 

7 SEC. 8. TARGETED GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

8 VISITATION FOR MILITARY FAMILIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in col10 laboration with the Secretary of Education, shall make 

11 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants to en12 able such applicants to support and expand efforts to de13 liver services under the Parents as Teachers programs, or 

14 other programs of early childhood home visitation, to eligi15 ble families with a family member in the Armed Forces. 

16 (b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘‘eligible applicant’’ means any of the following: 

18 (1) A local educational agency that receives 

19 payments under title VIII of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7701 

21 et seq.). 

22 (2) A school of the defense dependents’ edu23 cation system under the Defense Dependents’ Edu24 cation Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.). 
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1 (3) A school established under section 2164 of 

2 title 10, United States Code. 

3 (4) A community-based organization serving 

4 families with a family member in the Armed Forces. 

5 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible applicant that de6 sires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

7 application to the Secretary of Defense at such time, in 

8 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec9 retary of Defense may require. The application shall in10 clude a description of— 

11 (1) the results of a communitywide needs as12 sessment that describes— 

13 (A) community demographics dem14 onstrating the need for outreach and services to 

15 eligible families with a family member in the 

16 Armed Forces; 

17 (B) the quality, capacity, and existing pro18 grams of early childhood home visitation for eli19 gible families with a family member in the 

20 Armed Forces; 

21 (C) the gaps in programs of early child22 hood home visitation for eligible families with a 

23 family member in the Armed Forces; and 
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1 (D) the type of program of early childhood 

2 home visitation necessary to address the gaps 

3 identified; 

4 (2) the program of early childhood home visita5 tion that will be supported by the grant under this 

6 section; 

7 (3) how the proposed program of early child8 hood home visitation will promote positive parenting 

9 skills and children’s early learning and development; 

10 (4) how the proposed program of early child11 hood home visitation will incorporate the authorized 

12 activities described in subsection (f); 

13 (5) how services provided through a grant 

14 under this section will use materials that are geared 

15 toward eligible families with a family member in the 

16 Armed Forces; 

17 (6) how the activities under this section will be 

18 coordinated with existing programs of early child19 hood home visitation, if such programs exist in the 

20 community, in an effort to promote an array of 

21 home visitation that ensures more eligible families 

22 with a family member in the Armed Forces are 

23 being served and are getting the most appropriate 

24 services to meet their needs; 

25 (7) how the program will ensure that— 
30 

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1 (A) eligible families with a family member 

2 in the Armed Forces are linked to schools; and 

3 (B) the activities under this section will 

4 support the preparation of children for school; 

5 (8) how channels of communication will be es6 tablished between staff of programs of early child7 hood home visitation and staff of other early child8 hood education programs, preschool programs, fam9 ily support programs, and child care programs, to 

10 facilitate the coordination of services for eligible 

11 families with a family member in the Armed Forces; 

12 (9) how eligible families with a family member 

13 in the Armed Forces will be recruited and retained 

14 to receive services under this section; 

15 (10) how training and technical assistance will 

16 help staff of programs of early childhood home visi17 tation involved in activities under this section to 

18 more effectively serve eligible families with a family 

19 member in the Armed Forces; 

20 (11) how the eligible applicant will evaluate the 

21 activities supported under this section in order to 

22 demonstrate outcomes related to the— 

23 (A) increase in number of eligible families 

24 with a family member in the Armed Forces 
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1 served by programs of early childhood home vis2 itation; 

3 (B) enhancement of participating parents’ 

4 knowledge of early learning and development; 

5 (C) enhancement of positive parenting 

6 practices related to early learning and develop7 ment; and 

8 (D) enhancement of children’s cognitive, 

9 language, social-emotional, and physical devel10 opment; and 

11 (12) such other information as the Secretary of 

12 Defense may require. 

13 (d) APPROVAL OF LOCAL APPLICATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 

15 shall select applicants for funding under this section 

16 based on the quality of the applications and the rec17 ommendations of a peer review panel, as described 

18 in paragraph (2). 

19 (2) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—The peer review 

20 panel shall include not less than— 

21 (A) 2 individuals who are experts in the 

22 field of home visitation; 

23 (B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 

24 childhood development; and 
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1 (C) 2 individuals who are experts in family 

2 support for military families. 

3 (e) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Grants made under this 

4 section shall be for a period of no more than 3 years. 

5 (f) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible appli6 cant that receives a grant under this section shall carry 

7 out the following activities: 

8 (1) Providing to eligible families with a family 

9 member in the Armed Forces voluntary early child10 hood home visitation, on not less frequently than a 

11 monthly basis, through the implementation of Par12 ents as Teachers programs, or other programs of 

13 early childhood home visitation, that provides par14 ents with— 

15 (A) knowledge of age appropriate child de16 velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo17 tional, and motor domains; 

18 (B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 

19 age-appropriate child behaviors; 

20 (C) knowledge of health and wellness 

21 issues for children and parents; 

22 (D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 

23 parenting practices; 

24 (E) skills to interact with their child to en25 hance age-appropriate development; 
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1 (F) skills to recognize and seek help for 

2 health issues and developmental delays; and 

3 (G) activities designed to help parents be4 come full partners in the education of their chil5 dren. 

6 (2) Conducting annual health, vision, hearing, 

7 and developmental screening for participating chil8 dren. 

9 (3) Providing referrals for participating eligible 

10 families with a family member in the Armed Forces, 

11 as needed, to additional resources available in the 

12 community, such as center-based early education 

13 programs, child care services, health or mental 

14 health services, family literacy programs, employ15 ment agencies, and social services. 

16 (4) Offering group meetings, on not less fre17 quently than a monthly basis, for eligible families 

18 with a family member in the Armed Forces that— 

19 (A) further enhance the information, ac20 tivities, and skill-building addressed during 

21 home visitation; 

22 (B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 

23 with and support each other; and 

24 (C) address challenges facing eligible fami25 lies with a family member in the Armed Forces. 
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1 (5) Providing training and technical assistance 

2 to early childhood home visitation and early child3 hood care and education staff relating to— 

4 (A) effective service to eligible families 

5 with a family member in the Armed Forces; 

6 (B) effective methods of conducting parent 

7 education, home visiting, and promoting quality 

8 early childhood development; 

9 (C) the relationship of health and well10 being of pregnant women to prenatal and early 

11 child development; 

12 (D) early childhood development with re13 spect to children from birth until entry into kin14 dergarten; 

15 (E) methods to help parents promote 

16 emergent literacy in their children from birth 

17 until entry into kindergarten; 

18 (F) implementing strategies for helping eli19 gible families with a family member in the 

20 Armed Forces coping with crisis; 

21 (G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 

22 qualified staff; 

23 (H) increasing services for underserved eli24 gible families with a family member in the 

25 Armed Forces; 
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1 (I) methods to help parents effectively re2 spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 

3 and 

4 (J) implementation of ongoing program 

5 quality improvement and evaluation of activities 

6 and outcomes. 

7 (6) Coordinating existing programs of early 

8 childhood home visitation in order to effectively and 

9 efficiently meet the needs of more eligible families 

10 with a family member in the Armed Forces. 

11 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

12 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

13 and not supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available 

14 for carrying out the activities described in this section. 

15 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

17 $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2005 through 

18 2007. 

19 SEC. 9. EVALUATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under sec21 tion 5(b)(1)(A), the Secretary shall conduct an inde22 pendent evaluation of the effectiveness of this Act. 

23 (b) REPORTS.— 

24 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
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1 retary shall submit an interim report on the evalua2 tion conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the 

3 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen4 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

5 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

6 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary shall submit a final report on the evaluation 

9 conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the commit10 tees described in paragraph (1). 

11 (c) CONTENTS.—The reports submitted under sub12 section (b) shall include information on the following: 

13 (1) How the grant funds have expanded access 

14 to early childhood home visitation. 

15 (2) How the States are— 

16 (A) enhancing parents’ knowledge of early 

17 learning and development; 

18 (B) enhancing positive parenting practices 

19 related to early learning and development; and 

20 (C) enhancing children’s cognitive, lan21 guage, social-emotional, and physical develop22 ment. 

23 (3) The effectiveness of early childhood home 

24 visitation on different populations, including families 
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1 with English language learners and families with a 

2 family member in the Armed Forces. 

3 (4) The effectiveness of the training and tech4 nical assistance activities funded under this Act. 

5 (5) Recommendations on strengthening or 

6 modifying this Act. 

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