(C) enhancement of positive parenting 
practices related to early learning and develop-
ment; and 
(D) enhancement of children’s cognitive, 
language, social-emotional, and physical devel-
opment; 
(12) how the proposed program will conduct 
outreach activities to target both mothers and fa-
thers and increase father involvement where safe 
and appropriate; and 
(13) such other information as the Secretary of 
Defense may require. 
(d) APPROVAL OF LOCAL APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall select applicants for funding under this section 
based on the quality of the applications and the rec-
ommendations of a peer review panel, as described 
in paragraph (2). 
(2) PEER
REVIEW
PANEL.—The peer review 
panel shall include not less than— 
(A) 2 individuals who are experts in the 
field of home visitation; 
(B) 2 individuals who are experts in early 
childhood development; 
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(C) 2 individuals who are experts in family 
support for military families; 
(D) 1 individual who is a board certified 
pediatrician or developmental pediatrician; and 
(E) 1 individual with expertise in admin-
istering public or private (including community- 
based) child maltreatment prevention programs. 
(e) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Grants made under this 
section shall be for a period of no more than 3 years. 
(f) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible appli-
cant that receives a grant under this section shall carry 
out the following activities: 
(1) Providing to as many eligible families with 
a family member in the Armed Forces as prac-
ticable, voluntary early childhood home visitation, on 
not less frequently than a monthly basis, through 
the implementation of quality programs of early 
childhood home visitation that are research-based 
and that provide parents with— 
(A) knowledge of age appropriate child de-
velopment in cognitive, language, social-emo-
tional, and motor domains; 
(B) knowledge of realistic expectations of 
age-appropriate child behaviors; 
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(C) knowledge of health and wellness 
issues for children and parents; 
(D) modeling, consulting, and coaching on 
parenting practices; 
(E) skills to interact with their child to en-
hance age-appropriate development; 
(F) skills to recognize and seek help for 
issues related to health, developmental delays, 
and social, emotional, and behavioral skills; and 
(G) activities designed to help parents be-
come full partners in the education of their chil-
dren. 
(2) Ascertaining what health and developmental 
services the family receives and working with these 
providers to eliminate gaps in service by offering an-
nual health, vision, hearing, and developmental 
screening for children from birth to entry into kin-
dergarten, when not otherwise provided. 
(3) Providing referrals for participating eligible 
families with a family member in the Armed Forces, 
as needed, to additional resources available in the 
community, such as center-based early education 
programs, child care services, health or mental 
health services, family literacy programs, employ-
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ment agencies, social services, and child care re-
source and referral agencies. 
(4) Offering group meetings (at program dis-
cretion), on not less frequently than a monthly basis, 
for eligible families with a family member in the 
Armed Forces that— 
(A) further enhance the information, ac-
tivities, and skill-building addressed during 
home visitation; 
(B) offer opportunities for parents to meet 
with and support each other; and 
(C) address challenges facing eligible fami-
lies with a family member in the Armed Forces. 
(5) Providing training and technical assistance 
to early childhood home visitation and early child-
hood care and education staff relating to— 
(A) effective service to eligible families 
with a family member in the Armed Forces; 
(B) effective methods of implementing par-
ent education, conducting home visiting, and 
promoting quality early childhood development, 
with sensitivity to cultural variations in par-
enting norms and attitudes toward formal sup-
port services; 
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(C) the relationship of health and well- 
being of pregnant women to prenatal and early 
child development; 
(D) early childhood development with re-
spect to children from birth until entry into kin-
dergarten; 
(E) methods to help parents promote 
emergent literacy in their children from birth 
until entry into kindergarten; 
(F) implementing strategies for helping eli-
gible families with a family member in the 
Armed Forces coping with crisis; 
(G) recruiting, supervising, and retaining 
qualified staff; 
(H) increasing services for underserved eli-
gible families with a family member in the 
Armed Forces; 
(I) methods to help parents effectively re-
spond to their children’s needs and behaviors; 
(J) implementation of ongoing program 
quality improvement and evaluation of activities 
and outcomes; and 
(K) the relationship of father involvement 
to the health and well-being of pregnant women 
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and to prenatal and early childhood develop-
ment. 
(6) Coordinating existing programs of early 
childhood home visitation in order to effectively and 
efficiently meet the needs of more eligible families 
with a family member in the Armed Forces. 
(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each applicant 
that receives a grant under this section to carry out a pro-
gram shall submit an annual report to the Secretary re-
garding the progress of such program in addressing the 
purposes of this Act. Such report shall include, at a min-
imum, a description of— 
(1) actual service delivery provided under the 
grant including— 
(A) program characteristics including de-
scriptive information on the service model used 
and actual program performance; 
(B) provider characteristics including staff 
qualifications, work experience, and demo-
graphic characteristics; 
(C) 
recipient 
characteristics 
including 
number, demographic characteristics, and fam-
ily retention; and 
(D) an estimate of annual program imple-
mentation costs; 
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(2) recipient outcomes that are consistent with 
program goals including, where appropriate given 
the program being evaluated— 
(A) parental practices; 
(B) child health and development indica-
tors; 
(C) child maltreatment indicators; 
(D) school readiness indicators; and 
(E) links to community services; 
(3) the research-based instruction, materials, 
and activities being used in the activities funded 
under the grant; and 
(4) the effectiveness of the training and ongoing 
professional development provided— 
(A) to staff supported under the grant; 
and 
(B) to the broader early childhood commu-
nity. 
(h) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 
provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 
and not supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available 
for carrying out the activities described in this section. 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
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$50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 
2010. 
SEC. 8. EVALUATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under sec-
tion 5(b)(1)(A), the Secretary shall conduct an inde-
pendent evaluation of the effectiveness of this Act. 
(b) REPORTS.— 
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit an interim report on the evalua-
tion conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen-
sions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 
and Labor of the House of Representatives. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit a final report on the evaluation 
conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the commit-
tees described in paragraph (1). 
(c) CONTENTS.—The reports submitted under sub-
section (b) shall include information on the following: 
(1) How the grant funds have expanded access 
to early childhood home visitation including— 
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(A) demonstrating that programs funded 
reflect the quality indicators outlined in section 
5(f)(1); and 
(B) documenting the service delivery indi-
cators, as outlined in section 5(h)(1), across all 
recipients receiving grants with attention to the 
number of families served and the level of serv-
ice received. 
(2) How the States affect outcomes consistent 
with program goals including, where appropriate 
given the program being evaluated, parenting prac-
tices, child health and development, child maltreat-
ment, school readiness, and links to community serv-
ices. 
(3) The effectiveness of early childhood home 
visitation on different populations, including the ex-
tent to which variability exists in program ability to 
improve outcomes across programs and populations, 
such as families with English language learners and 
families with a family member in the Armed Forces. 
(4) Descriptions of the technical assistance and 
training actually provided and the nature of the pop-
ulations receiving this assistance. 
(5) The effectiveness of the training and tech-
nical assistance activities funded under this Act, in-
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cluding the effects of training and technical assist-
ance activities on program performance and agency- 
level collaboration. 
(6) Recommendations on strengthening or 
modifying this Act. 
SEC. 9. SUPPORTING NEW PARENTS THROUGH HOSPITAL 
EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall develop and implement a public information 
and educational campaign to inform the public and new 
parents about the importance of proper care for infants 
and children under 5 years of age, including healthy par-
ent-child relationships, the demands and stress associated 
with caring for infants, positive responses to infants’ chal-
lenging behaviors including awareness of their social, emo-
tional, and physical needs, awareness of the vulnerability 
of young children to abusive practices, and the signs and 
treatment of post-partum depression. 
(b) ELEMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The campaign developed 
under subsection (a) shall include the following ele-
ments: 
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(A) The dissemination of educational and 
informational materials in print, audio, video, 
electronic, and other media. 
(B) The use of public service announce-
ments and advertisements. 
(C) The dissemination of effective child 
abuse prevention practices and techniques, in-
cluding information about research-based home 
visiting programs, respite care, crisis nurseries, 
and parent support networks, to parents, care-
givers, maternity hospitals, children’s hospitals, 
pediatricians, child care centers, organizations 
providing prenatal and postnatal care, and or-
ganizations providing parenting education and 
support services. 
(D) Connection to existing parental in-
volvement programs. 
(2) PREVENTION PRACTICES.—In carrying out 
paragraph (1)(C) through the campaign under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall ensure that every 
hospital, military hospital, and birth center receiving 
these materials requests that each maternity patient 
and father of a newborn child, if available, partici-
pate in a single session parenting class, that is ap-
proved by the Secretary, on the vulnerabilities of 
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