I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2343 
To expand quality programs of early childhood home visitation that increase 
school readiness, child abuse and neglect prevention, and early identifica-
tion of developmental and health delays, including potential mental health 
concerns, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 16, 2007 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. PLATTS) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and 
in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To expand quality programs of early childhood home visita-
tion that increase school readiness, child abuse and ne-
glect prevention, and early identification of developmental 
and health delays, including potential mental health con-
cerns, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Education Begins at 
Home Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the home is the first and most important 
learning environment for children, and parents are 
their children’s first and most influential teacher; 
(2) through parent education and family sup-
port, we can promote parents’ ability to enhance 
their children’s development from birth until entry 
into kindergarten thereby helping parents to prepare 
their children for success in school; 
(3) undiagnosed and unaddressed develop-
mental and health problems can impede overall child 
development and school readiness; 
(4) all parents deserve and can benefit from— 
(A) research-based information regarding 
child development; 
(B) enrichment opportunities with their 
children; and 
(C) early opportunities to become involved 
with their community and schools; and 
(5) early childhood home visitation leads to 
positive outcomes for children and families, including 
readiness for school, improved child health and de-
velopment, positive parenting practices, and reduc-
tions in child maltreatment. 
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(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To enable States, Indian tribes, tribal orga-
nizations, territories, or possessions to deliver qual-
ity programs of early childhood home visitation to 
pregnant women and parents of children from birth 
until entry into kindergarten in order to promote 
positive outcomes for children and families including: 
readiness for school, improved child health and de-
velopment, positive parenting practices, reductions in 
child maltreatment, and enhanced parenting abilities 
to support their children’s optimal cognitive, lan-
guage, social-emotional, and physical development. 
(2) To improve Early Head Start programs car-
ried out under section 645A of the Head Start Act 
(42 U.S.C. 9840a). 
(3) To expand quality programs of early child-
hood home visitation so as to more effectively reach 
and serve families with English language learners. 
(4) To expand quality programs of early child-
hood home visitation so as to more effectively reach 
and serve families serving in the military. 
(5) To establish a public education and aware-
ness campaign concerning the importance of the 
proper care of infants and young children. 
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(6) To make available for parents of newborn 
children parenting classes that convey information 
about the importance of proper care for newborns, 
including information about symptoms of abusive 
head and other injuries. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ELIGIBLE
FAMILY.—The term ‘‘eligible 
family’’ means— 
(A) a woman who is pregnant and the fa-
ther of the child if the father is available; or 
(B) a parent or primary caregiver of a 
child, including grandparents or other relatives 
of the child, and foster parents, who are serving 
as the primary caregiver from birth until entry 
into kindergarten, including a noncustodial par-
ent who has an on-going relationship with and, 
at times, provides physical care for such child. 
(2) HOME VISITATION.—The term ‘‘home visi-
tation’’ means services provided in the permanent or 
temporary residence, or in a mutually agreed upon 
location in the community, of the individual receiv-
ing such services. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of 
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the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist-
ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
(4) SECRETARY.—Except as provided in section 
8, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(6) TERRITORIES
AND
POSSESSIONS.—The 
term ‘‘territories and possessions’’ shall include 
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North-
ern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States 
Virgin Islands. 
(7) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 
organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME VISITA-
TION. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Education, shall make grants to 
States, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, territories and 
possessions to enable States, Indian tribes, tribal organi-
zations, territories and possessions to establish or expand 
quality programs of early childhood home visitation as 
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specified under subsection (f). Each grant shall consist of 
the allotment determined under subsection (b). 
(b) DETERMINATION OF RESERVATIONS; AMOUNT OF 
ALLOTMENTS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) RESERVATIONS
FROM
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
From the total amount made available to carry out 
this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall re-
serve— 
(A) 3 percent for an independent evalua-
tion of the activities carried out under this Act, 
as specified in section 8; 
(B) not more than 3 percent for Federal 
administrative costs; 
(C) not more than 2 percent of the funds 
appropriated for any fiscal year for payments to 
Indian tribes or tribal organizations with an ap-
proved application under this section; 
(D) not more than 1⁄2 of 1 percent of the 
funds appropriated for any fiscal year for pay-
ments to territories and possessions with an ap-
proved application under this section; and 
(E) 2 percent for training and technical 
assistance for States. 
(2) STATE
ALLOTMENTS
FOR
EARLY
CHILD-
HOOD HOME VISITATION.— 
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—In accordance with 
subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall allot 
among each of the eligible States the total 
amount made available to carry out this section 
for any fiscal year and not reserved under para-
graph (1), to carry out early childhood home 
visitation in accordance with this section. 
(B) DETERMINATION
OF
STATE
ALLOT-
MENTS.—The Secretary shall allot the amount 
made available under subparagraph (A) for a 
fiscal year among the eligible States in propor-
tion to the number of children, aged from birth 
to 5 years, who reside within the State, com-
pared to the number of such individuals who re-
side in all such States for that fiscal year. 
(3) PAYMENTS TO TRIBES AND TERRITORIES.— 
(A) Out of the funds reserved under para-
graph (1)(A), the Secretary shall provide funds 
to each Indian tribe or tribal organization with 
an approved application under this section in 
accordance with the respective needs described 
in that application. 
(B) Out of the funds reserved under para-
graph (1)(B), the Secretary shall provide funds 
to each territory or possession with an approved 
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application under this section in accordance 
with the respective needs described in that ap-
plication. 
(4) APPLICATIONS OF INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL 
ORGANIZATIONS, TERRITORIES, OR POSSESSIONS.— 
(A) Subject to subparagraph (B) the Sec-
retary shall approve an application of an Indian 
tribe, tribal organization, territory, or posses-
sion based on the quality of the application. 
(B) The Secretary may exempt an applica-
tion submitted by an Indian tribe, tribal organi-
zation, territory, or possession from any re-
quirement of this section that the secretary de-
termines would be inappropriate to apply taking 
into account the resources, needs, and other cir-
cumstances of the indian tribe, tribal organiza-
tion territory, or possession with the exception 
of the provision of quality early childhood home 
visitation as outlined in section (5)(f)(1), re-
porting requirements detailed in paragraphs (1) 
and (3) of section 5(h), and participation in the 
independent evaluation outlined in section 9. 
(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
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this section $400,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2010. 
(c) GRANT APPLICATIONS.—A State, Indian tribe, 
tribal organization, territory, or possession that desires to 
receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
The application shall contain the following information: 
(1) An assurance that the Governor of the 
State has designated a lead State agency, such as 
the State educational agency or the State health and 
human services agency, to carry out the activities 
under this section. 
(2) An assurance that the State will reserve 3 
percent of such grant for evaluation and will partici-
pate in the independent evaluation under section 9. 
(3) An assurance that the State will reserve 10 
percent of the grant funds for training and technical 
assistance of staff of programs of early childhood 
home visitation. 
(4) An assurance that the State will authorize 
child care resource and referral agencies to refer 
parents seeking home visitation services. 
(5) The results of a statewide needs assessment 
that describes— 
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(A) the quality and capacity of existing 
programs of early childhood home visitation in 
the State; 
(B) the number and types of eligible fami-
lies who are receiving services under such pro-
grams; and 
(C) the gaps in early childhood home visi-
tation in the State. 
(6) A State plan containing the following: 
(A) A description of the State’s strategy to 
establish or expand quality programs of early 
childhood home visitation to serve all eligible 
families in the State. 
(B) A description of the quality programs 
of early childhood home visitation that will be 
supported by a grant under this section. 
(C) A description of how the proposed pro-
gram of early childhood home visitation will 
promote positive parenting skills and children’s 
early learning and development. 
(D) A description of how the proposed pro-
gram of early childhood home visitation will in-
corporate the authorized activities described in 
subsection (f). 
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(E) How the lead State agency will build 
on and promote coordination among existing 
programs of early childhood home visitation in 
an effort to promote an array of home visitation 
that ensures more eligible families are being 
served and are getting the most appropriate 
services to meet their needs. 
(F) How the lead State agency will pro-
mote collaboration among a broad range of 
child-serving programs, including— 
(i) early childhood home visitation 
programs; 
(ii) early childhood care and education 
programs; 
(iii) early childhood intervention pro-
grams; 
(iv) child abuse prevention and treat-
ment programs; 
(v) Medicaid and State Children’s 
Health Insurance programs; 
(vi) nutrition assistance programs; 
(vii) substance abuse and mental 
health prevention and treatment programs; 
(viii) domestic and family violence 
prevention programs; 
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(ix) child support enforcement pro-
grams; 
(x) workforce development programs; 
(xi) the State Temporary Assistance 
to Needy Families program; and 
(xii) other child-serving programs in 
the State in order to facilitate the coordi-
nated delivery of services for eligible fami-
lies. 
(G) How the lead State agency will provide 
training and technical assistance to staff of pro-
grams of early childhood home visitation in-
volved in activities under this section to more 
effectively meet the needs of the eligible families 
served, with sensitivity to cultural variations in 
parenting norms and attitudes toward formal 
support services. 
(H) How the lead State agency will evalu-
ate the activities supported under this section in 
order to assess outcomes related to the en-
hancement of— 
(i) parent knowledge of early learning 
and development; 
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