II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 503 

To expand Parents as Teachers programs and other quality programs of 

early childhood home visitation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2005 

Mr. BOND (for himself, Mr. TALENT, and Mr. DEWINE) 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 quality 

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 quality pro3 grams of early childhood home visitation, to preg4 nant women and parents of children from birth until 

5 entry into kindergarten in order to promote parents’ 

6 ability to support their children’s optimal cognitive, 

7 language, social-emotional, and physical develop8 ment. 

9 (2) To improve Early Head Start programs car10 ried out under section 645A of the Head Start Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 9840a). 

12 (3) To expand Parents as Teachers programs, 

13 or other quality programs of early childhood home 

14 visitation, so as to more effectively reach and serve 

15 families with English language learners. 

16 (4) To expand Parents as Teachers programs, 

17 or other quality programs of early childhood home 

18 visitation, so as to more effectively reach and serve 

19 families serving in the military. 

20 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

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

23 family’’ means— 

24 (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 quality programs of 

20 early childhood home visitation, as specified under sub21 section (f). Each grant shall consist of the allotment deter22 mined 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 2006 through 2008. 

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) An assurance that the State will authorize 

9 child care resource and referral agencies to refer 

10 parents seeking home visitation services. 

11 (5) The results of a statewide needs assessment 

12 that describes— 

13 (A) the quality and capacity of existing 

14 programs of early childhood home visitation in 

15 the State; 

16 (B) the number and types of eligible fami17 lies who are receiving services under such pro18 grams; and 

19 (C) the gaps in early childhood home visi20 tation in the State. 

21 (6) A State plan containing the following: 

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

23 establish or expand Parents as Teachers pro24 grams, or other quality programs of early child-
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1 hood home visitation, to serve all eligible fami2 lies in the State. 

3 (B) A description of the Parents as Teach4 ers programs, or other quality programs of 

5 early childhood home visitation, that will be 

6 supported by a grant under this section. 

7 (C) A description of how the proposed pro8 gram of early childhood home visitation will 

9 promote positive parenting skills and children’s 

10 early learning and development. 

11 (D) A description of how the proposed pro12 gram of early childhood home visitation will in13 corporate the authorized activities described in 

14 subsection (f). 

15 (E) How the lead State agency will build 

16 on and promote coordination among existing 

17 programs of early childhood home visitation in 

18 an effort to promote an array of home visitation 

19 that ensures more eligible families are being 

20 served and are getting the most appropriate 

21 services to meet their needs. 

22 (F) How the lead State agency will pro23 mote channels of communication between staff 

24 of programs of early childhood home visitation 

25 and staff of other early childhood education 
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1 programs, such as Head Start programs carried 

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

3 et seq.) and Early Head Start programs carried 

4 out under section 645A of such Act, preschool 

5 programs, and child care programs, to facilitate 

6 the coordination of services for eligible families. 

7 (G) How the lead State agency will provide 

8 training and technical assistance to staff of pro9 grams of early childhood home visitation in10 volved in activities under this section to more 

11 effectively meet the needs of the eligible families 

12 served. 

13 (H) How the lead State agency will evalu14 ate the activities supported under this section in 

15 order to demonstrate outcomes related to the 

16 enhancement of— 

17 (i) parent knowledge of early learning 

18 and development; 

19 (ii) positive parenting practices re20 lated to early learning and development; 

21 and 

22 (iii) children’s cognitive, language, so23 cial-emotional, and physical development. 

24 (I) Such other information as the Sec25 retary may require. 
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1 (d) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.— 

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

3 an application under this section based on the qual4 ity of the application and the recommendations of a 

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

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

7 panel shall include not less than— 

8 (A) 3 individuals who are experts in the 

9 field of home visitation; 

10 (B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 

11 childhood development; 

12 (C) 1 individual with experience imple13 menting a statewide program of early childhood 

14 home visitation; and 

15 (D) 1 individual who is a board certified 

16 pediatrician. 

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

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

19 (f) STATE USES OF FUNDS.—Each State that re20 ceives a grant under this section shall— 

21 (1) provide to as many eligible families in the 

22 State as practicable, voluntary early childhood home 

23 visitation, on not less frequently than a monthly 

24 basis with greater frequency of services for those eli25 gible families identified with additional needs, 
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1 through the implementation of Parents as Teachers 

2 programs, or other quality programs of early child3 hood home visitation that are research-based, that 

4 provide parents with— 

5 (A) knowledge of age appropriate child de6 velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo7 tional, and motor domains; 

8 (B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 

9 age-appropriate child behaviors; 

10 (C) knowledge of health and wellness 

11 issues for children and parents; 

12 (D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 

13 parenting practices; 

14 (E) skills to interact with their child to en15 hance age-appropriate development; 

16 (F) skills to recognize and seek help for 

17 health issues and developmental delays; and 

18 (G) activities designed to help parents be19 come full partners in the education of their chil20 dren; 

21 (2) offer annual health, vision, hearing, and de22 velopmental screening for children from birth until 

23 entry into kindergarten; 

24 (3) provide referrals for eligible families, as 

25 needed, to additional resources available in the com-
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1 munity, such as center-based early education pro2 grams, child care services, health or mental health 

3 services, family literacy programs, employment agen4 cies, social services, and child care resource and re5 ferral agencies; 

6 (4) offer group meetings, on not less frequently 

7 than a monthly basis, for eligible families that— 

8 (A) further enhance the information, ac9 tivities, and skill-building addressed during 

10 home visitation; and 

11 (B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 

12 with and support each other; 

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

14 provide training and technical assistance, directly or 

15 through contract, to early childhood home visitation 

16 and early childhood care and education staff relating 

17 to— 

18 (A) effective methods of conducting parent 

19 education, home visiting, and promoting quality 

20 early childhood development; 

21 (B) the relationship of health and well22 being of pregnant women to prenatal and early 

23 childhood development; 
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1 (C) early childhood development with re2 spect to children from birth until entry into kin3 dergarten; 

4 (D) methods to help parents promote 

5 emergent literacy in their children from birth 

6 until entry into kindergarten; 

7 (E) health, vision, hearing, and develop8 mental screenings; 

9 (F) strategies for helping eligible families 

10 with special needs or those eligible families cop11 ing with crisis; 

12 (G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 

13 qualified staff; 

14 (H) increasing services for underserved 

15 populations; 

16 (I) methods to help parents effectively re17 spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 

18 and 

19 (J) implementation of ongoing program 

20 quality improvement and evaluation of activities 

21 and outcomes; 

22 (6) ensure coordination of programs of early 

23 childhood home visitation, early childhood education 

24 and care, and early intervention, through an existing 
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1 or created State-level early childhood coordinating 

2 body that includes— 

3 (A) representatives from relevant State 

4 agencies; 

5 (B) representatives from State Head Start 

6 Associations; 

7 (C) the State official with responsibility for 

8 carrying out activities under part C of the Indi9 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

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

11 (D) the State official with responsibility 

12 for carrying out activities under section 619 of 

13 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1419); 

15 (E) representatives from child care re16 source and referral State offices; 

17 (F) representatives from Parents as 

18 Teachers State affiliate offices; 

19 (G) representatives from other quality pro20 grams of early childhood home visitation; and 

21 (H) a board certified pediatrician; and 

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

23 amount of grant funds received under this section 

24 for the administration of the grant, including plan-
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1 ning, administration, evaluation, and annual report2 ing. 

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

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

5 any fiscal year if the Secretary finds that the aggregate 

6 expenditures within the State for Parents as Teachers pro7 grams, or other quality programs of early childhood home 

8 visitation, for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for 

9 which the determination is made was not less than 100 

10 percent of such aggregate expenditures for the second fis11 cal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determina12 tion is made. 

13 (h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each State that 

14 receives a grant under this section shall submit an annual 

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

16 addressing the purposes of this Act. Such report shall in17 clude, at a minimum, a description of— 

18 (1) the types of activities funded under the 

19 grant; 

20 (2) the children and eligible families served by 

21 the programs funded under the grant; 

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

23 and activities being used in the activities funded 

24 under the grant; 
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1 (4) the effectiveness of the training and ongoing 

2 professional development provided— 

3 (A) to staff supported under the grant; 

4 and 

5 (B) to the broader early childhood commu6 nity; and 

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

8 the grant, the results of evaluations described in 

9 subsection (c)(4)(G). 

10 SEC. 6. STRENGTHENING EARLY HEAD START HOME VISI11 TATION. 

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

13 9840a) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

16 services to parents to support their role as par17 ents’’ and inserting ‘‘provide additional services 

18 to parents to support their role as parents (in19 cluding parenting skills training and training in 

20 basic child development)’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including home23 based services)’’ after ‘‘with services’’; and 

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

25 services’’ after ‘‘health services’’; 
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1 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), 

2 and (9) as paragraphs (9), (10), and (11), re3 spectively; and 

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

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(7) develop and implement a systematic proce7 dure for transitioning children and parents from an 

8 Early Head Start program into a Head Start pro9 gram or another local early childhood education pro10 gram; 

11 ‘‘(8) establish channels of communication be12 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 

13 of Head Start programs or other local early child14 hood education programs, to facilitate the coordina15 tion of programs;’’; 

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

17 (iv) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop19 ment and personnel enhancement activi20 ties, including the provision of funds to re21 cipients of grants under subsection (a), re22 lating to effective methods of conducting 

23 parent education, home visiting, and pro24 moting quality early childhood develop25 ment.’’; and 
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

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

3 ‘‘(1) HOME VISITOR STAFF.— 

4 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS.—In order to further en5 hance the quality of home visiting services pro6 vided to families of children participating in 

7 home-based, center-based, or combination pro8 gram options under this subchapter, the Sec9 retary shall establish standards for training, 

10 qualifications, and the conduct of home visits 

11 for home visitor staff in Early Head Start pro12 grams. 

13 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The standards for 

14 training, qualifications, and the conduct of 

15 home visits shall include content related to— 

16 ‘‘(i) structured child-focused home vis17 iting that promotes parents’ ability to sup18 port the child’s cognitive, social, emotional, 

19 and physical development; 

20 ‘‘(ii) effective strengths-based parent 

21 education, including methods to encourage 

22 parents as their child’s first teachers; 

23 ‘‘(iii) early childhood development 

24 with respect to children from birth through 

25 age 3; 
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1 ‘‘(iv) methods to help parents promote 

2 emergent literacy in their children from 

3 birth through age 3; 

4 ‘‘(v) health, vision, hearing, and devel5 opmental screenings; 

6 ‘‘(vi) strategies for helping families 

7 coping with crisis; and 

8 ‘‘(vii) the relationship of health and 

9 well-being of pregnant women to prenatal 

10 and early child development.’’. 

11 SEC. 7. TARGETED GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

12 VISITATION FOR FAMILIES WITH ENGLISH 

13 LANGUAGE LEARNERS. 

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

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

16 a competitive basis, to eligible applicants to enable such 

17 applicants to support and expand local efforts to deliver 

18 services under the Parents as Teachers programs, or other 

19 quality programs of early childhood home visitation, to eli20 gible families with English language learners. 

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

22 ‘‘eligible applicant’’ means— 

23 (1) 1 or more local educational agencies (as de24 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec-
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1 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 

2 and 

3 (2) 1 or more public or private community4 based organizations or agencies that serve eligible 

5 families and are capable of establishing and imple6 menting programs of early childhood home visita7 tion. 

8 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible applicant that de9 sires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

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

11 and containing such information as the Secretary may re12 quire. The application shall include a description of— 

13 (1) the results of a communitywide needs as14 sessment that describes— 

15 (A) community demographics dem16 onstrating the need for outreach and services to 

17 eligible families with English language learners; 

18 (B) the quality, capacity, and existing pro19 grams of early childhood home visitation for eli20 gible families with English language learners; 

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

23 English language learners; 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 English language learn16 ers; 

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 English language learners are being served and 

23 are getting the most appropriate services to meet 

24 their needs; 

25 (7) how the program will ensure that— 
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1 (A) eligible families with English language 

2 learners 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, such as Head Start pro9 grams carried out under the Head Start Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) and Early Head Start pro11 grams carried out under section 645A of such Act, 

12 preschool programs, and child care programs, to fa13 cilitate the coordination of services for eligible fami14 lies with English language learners; 

15 (9) how eligible families with English language 

16 learners will be recruited and retained to receive 

17 services under this section; 

18 (10) how training and technical assistance will 

19 help the staff of programs of early childhood home 

20 visitation involved in activities under this section to 

21 more effectively serve eligible families with English 

22 language learners; 

23 (11) how the eligible applicant will evaluate the 

24 activities supported under this section in order to 

25 demonstrate outcomes related to the— 
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1 (A) increase in number of eligible families 

2 with English language learners served by pro3 grams of early childhood home visitation; 

4 (B) enhancement of participating parents’ 

5 knowledge of early learning and development; 

6 (C) enhancement of positive parenting 

7 practices related to early learning and develop8 ment; and 

9 (D) enhancement of children’s cognitive, 

10 language, social-emotional, and physical devel11 opment; and 

12 (12) such other information as the Secretary 

13 may require. 

14 (d) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 

16 applicants for funding under this section based on 

17 the quality of the applications and the recommenda18 tions of a peer review panel, as described in para19 graph (2). 

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

21 panel shall include not less than— 

22 (A) 2 individuals who are experts in the 

23 field of home visitation; 

24 (B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 

25 childhood development; 
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1 (C) 2 individuals who are experts in serv2 ing eligible families with English language 

3 learners; and 

4 (D) 1 individual who is a board certified 

5 pediatrician. 

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

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

8 (f) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible appli9 cant that receives a grant under this section shall carry 

10 out the following activities: 

11 (1) Providing to as many eligible families with 

12 English language learners as practicable, voluntary 

13 early childhood home visitation, on not less fre14 quently than a monthly basis, through the imple15 mentation of Parents as Teachers programs, or 

16 other quality programs of early childhood home visi17 tation that are research-based, that provide parents 

18 with— 

19 (A) knowledge of age appropriate child de20 velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo21 tional, and motor domains; 

22 (B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 

23 age-appropriate child behaviors; 

24 (C) knowledge of health and wellness 

25 issues for children and parents; 
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1 (D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 

2 parenting practices; 

3 (E) skills to interact with their child to en4 hance age-appropriate development; 

5 (F) skills to recognize and seek help for 

6 health issues and developmental delays; and 

7 (G) activities designed to help parents be8 come full partners in the education of their chil9 dren. 

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

11 and developmental screening for participating chil12 dren who are English language learners. 

13 (3) Providing referrals for participating eligible 

14 families with English language learners, as needed, 

15 to additional resources available in the community, 

16 such as center-based early education programs, child 

17 care services, health or mental health services, fam18 ily literacy programs, employment agencies, social 

19 services, and child care resource and referral agen20 cies. 

21 (4) Offering group meetings, on not less fre22 quently than a monthly basis, for eligible families 

23 with English language learners that— 
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1 (A) further enhance the information, ac2 tivities, and skill-building addressed during 

3 home visitation; 

4 (B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 

5 with and support each other; and 

6 (C) address challenges facing eligible fami7 lies with English language learners. 

8 (5) Providing training and technical assistance 

9 to early childhood home visitation and early child10 hood care and education staff relating to— 

11 (A) effective service to eligible families 

12 with English language learners; 

13 (B) effective methods of conducting parent 

14 education, home visiting, and promoting quality 

15 early childhood development; 

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

18 child development; 

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

22 (E) methods to help parents promote 

23 emergent literacy in their children from birth 

24 until entry into kindergarten; 
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1 (F) implementing strategies for helping eli2 gible families with English language learners 

3 coping with a crisis; 

4 (G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 

5 qualified staff; 

6 (H) increasing services for underserved eli7 gible families with English language learners; 

8 (I) methods to help parents effectively re9 spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 

10 and 

11 (J) implementation of ongoing program 

12 quality improvement and evaluation of activities 

13 and outcomes. 

14 (6) Coordinating existing programs of early 

15 childhood home visitation in order to effectively and 

16 efficiently meet the needs of more eligible families 

17 with English language learners. 

18 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

19 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

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

21 for carrying out the activities described in this section. 

22 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2006 through 

25 2008. 
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1 SEC. 8. TARGETED GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

2 VISITATION FOR MILITARY FAMILIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in col4 laboration with the Secretary of Education, shall make 

5 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants to en6 able such applicants to support and expand efforts to de7 liver services under the Parents as Teachers programs, or 

8 other quality programs of early childhood home visitation, 

9 to eligible families with a family member in the Armed 

10 Forces. 

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

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

13 (1) A local educational agency that receives 

14 payments under title VIII of the Elementary and 

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

16 et seq.). 

17 (2) A school of the defense dependents’ edu18 cation system under the Defense Dependents’ Edu19 cation Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.). 

20 (3) A school established under section 2164 of 

21 title 10, United States Code. 

22 (4) A community-based organization serving 

23 families with a family member in the Armed Forces. 

24 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible applicant that de25 sires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

26 application to the Secretary of Defense at such time, in 
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1 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary of Defense may require. The application shall in3 clude a description of— 

4 (1) the results of a communitywide needs as5 sessment that describes— 

6 (A) community demographics dem7 onstrating the need for outreach and services to 

8 eligible families with a family member in the 

9 Armed Forces; 

10 (B) the quality, capacity, and existing pro11 grams of early childhood home visitation for eli12 gible families with a family member in the 

13 Armed Forces; 

14 (C) the gaps in programs of early child15 hood home visitation for eligible families with a 

16 family member in the Armed Forces; and 

17 (D) the type of program of early childhood 

18 home visitation necessary to address the gaps 

19 identified; 

20 (2) the program of early childhood home visita21 tion that will be supported by the grant under this 

22 section; 

23 (3) how the proposed program of early child24 hood home visitation will promote positive parenting 

25 skills and children’s early learning and development; 
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1 (4) how the proposed program of early child2 hood home visitation will incorporate the authorized 

3 activities described in subsection (f); 

4 (5) how services provided through a grant 

5 under this section will use materials that are geared 

6 toward eligible families with a family member in the 

7 Armed Forces; 

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

9 coordinated with existing programs of early child10 hood home visitation, if such programs exist in the 

11 community, in an effort to promote an array of 

12 home visitation that ensures more eligible families 

13 with a family member in the Armed Forces are 

14 being served and are getting the most appropriate 

15 services to meet their needs; 

16 (7) how the program will ensure that— 

17 (A) eligible families with a family member 

18 in the Armed Forces are linked to schools; and 

19 (B) the activities under this section will 

20 support the preparation of children for school; 

21 (8) how channels of communication will be es22 tablished between staff of programs of early child23 hood home visitation and staff of other early child24 hood education programs, preschool programs, fam25 ily support programs, and child care programs, to 
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1 facilitate the coordination of services for eligible 

2 families with a family member in the Armed Forces; 

3 (9) how eligible families with a family member 

4 in the Armed Forces will be recruited and retained 

5 to receive services under this section; 

6 (10) how training and technical assistance will 

7 help staff of programs of early childhood home visi8 tation involved in activities under this section to 

9 more effectively serve eligible families with a family 

10 member in the Armed Forces; 

11 (11) how the eligible applicant will evaluate the 

12 activities supported under this section in order to 

13 demonstrate outcomes related to the— 

14 (A) increase in number of eligible families 

15 with a family member in the Armed Forces 

16 served by programs of early childhood home vis17 itation; 

18 (B) enhancement of participating parents’ 

19 knowledge of early learning and development; 

20 (C) enhancement of positive parenting 

21 practices related to early learning and develop22 ment; and 

23 (D) enhancement of children’s cognitive, 

24 language, social-emotional, and physical devel25 opment; and 
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1 (12) such other information as the Secretary of 

2 Defense may require. 

3 (d) APPROVAL OF LOCAL APPLICATIONS.— 

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

5 shall select applicants for funding under this section 

6 based on the quality of the applications and the rec7 ommendations of a peer review panel, as described 

8 in paragraph (2). 

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

10 panel shall include not less than— 

11 (A) 2 individuals who are experts in the 

12 field of home visitation; 

13 (B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 

14 childhood development; 

15 (C) 2 individuals who are experts in family 

16 support for military families; and 

17 (D) 1 individual who is a board certified 

18 pediatrician. 

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

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

21 (f) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible appli22 cant that receives a grant under this section shall carry 

23 out the following activities: 

24 (1) Providing to as many eligible families with 

25 a family member in the Armed Forces as prac-
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1 ticable, voluntary early childhood home visitation, on 

2 not less frequently than a monthly basis, through 

3 the implementation of Parents as Teachers pro4 grams, or other quality programs of early childhood 

5 home visitation that are research-based, that provide 

6 parents with— 

7 (A) knowledge of age appropriate child de8 velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo9 tional, and motor domains; 

10 (B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 

11 age-appropriate child behaviors; 

12 (C) knowledge of health and wellness 

13 issues for children and parents; 

14 (D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 

15 parenting practices; 

16 (E) skills to interact with their child to en17 hance age-appropriate development; 

18 (F) skills to recognize and seek help for 

19 health issues and developmental delays; and 

20 (G) activities designed to help parents be21 come full partners in the education of their chil22 dren. 

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

24 and developmental screening for participating chil25 dren. 
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1 (3) Providing referrals for participating eligible 

2 families with a family member in the Armed Forces, 

3 as needed, to additional resources available in the 

4 community, such as center-based early education 

5 programs, child care services, health or mental 

6 health services, family literacy programs, employ7 ment agencies, social services, and child care re8 source and referral agencies. 

9 (4) Offering group meetings, on not less fre10 quently than a monthly basis, for eligible families 

11 with a family member in the Armed Forces that— 

12 (A) further enhance the information, ac13 tivities, and skill-building addressed during 

14 home visitation; 

15 (B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 

16 with and support each other; and 

17 (C) address challenges facing eligible fami18 lies with a family member in the Armed Forces. 

19 (5) Providing training and technical assistance 

20 to early childhood home visitation and early child21 hood care and education staff relating to— 

22 (A) effective service to eligible families 

23 with a family member in the Armed Forces; 
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1 (B) effective methods of conducting parent 

2 education, home visiting, and promoting quality 

3 early childhood development; 

4 (C) the relationship of health and well5 being of pregnant women to prenatal and early 

6 child development; 

7 (D) early childhood development with re8 spect to children from birth until entry into kin9 dergarten; 

10 (E) methods to help parents promote 

11 emergent literacy in their children from birth 

12 until entry into kindergarten; 

13 (F) implementing strategies for helping eli14 gible families with a family member in the 

15 Armed Forces coping with crisis; 

16 (G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 

17 qualified staff; 

18 (H) increasing services for underserved eli19 gible families with a family member in the 

20 Armed Forces; 

21 (I) methods to help parents effectively re22 spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 

23 and 
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1 (J) implementation of ongoing program 

2 quality improvement and evaluation of activities 

3 and outcomes. 

4 (6) Coordinating existing programs of early 

5 childhood home visitation in order to effectively and 

6 efficiently meet the needs of more eligible families 

7 with a family member in the Armed Forces. 

8 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

9 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

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

11 for carrying out the activities described in this section. 

12 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2006 through 

15 2008. 

16 SEC. 9. EVALUATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under sec18 tion 5(b)(1)(A), the Secretary shall conduct an inde19 pendent evaluation of the effectiveness of this Act. 

20 (b) REPORTS.— 

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

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall submit an interim report on the evalua24 tion conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the 

25 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen-
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1 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

2 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

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

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary shall submit a final report on the evaluation 

6 conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the commit7 tees described in paragraph (1). 

8 (c) CONTENTS.—The reports submitted under sub9 section (b) shall include information on the following: 

10 (1) How the grant funds have expanded access 

11 to early childhood home visitation. 

12 (2) How the States are— 

13 (A) enhancing parents’ knowledge of early 

14 learning and development; 

15 (B) enhancing positive parenting practices 

16 related to early learning and development; and 

17 (C) enhancing children’s cognitive, lan18 guage, social-emotional, and physical develop19 ment. 

20 (3) The effectiveness of early childhood home 

21 visitation on different populations, including families 

22 with English language learners and families with a 

23 family member in the Armed Forces. 

24 (4) The effectiveness of the training and tech25 nical assistance activities funded under this Act. 
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1 (5) Recommendations on strengthening or 

2 modifying this Act. 

Æ