The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is planning to expand its home visiting initiative to provide services in Berrien County.
DHHS hosted a pre-application conference on Wednesday for the request for proposals that was released for the program. Evi Lindquist, state Local Leadership Group (LLG) coordinator for DHHS, said 44 counties are currently covered through the state’s LLG initiative.
“LLGs are a part of the Michigan Home Visiting initiative, which seeks to support and grow a comprehensive home visiting system that will increase collaboration across home visiting programs so that every community has a system in place that results in the right home visiting program at the right time, in the right place for families,” Lindquist said. “LLGs were developed in Michigan out of a desire to continue to build the capacity of home visiting services in high-risk communities to truly impact critical risk factors that families experience.”
LLGs support Michigan’s early childhood evidence-based home visiting programs, which provide voluntary prevention-focused family support services in the homes of pregnant people and families with children up to age five, Lindquist said.
“These programs are designed to support parents and caregivers, and connect them to community resources and services by working with families to understand their needs and concerns. Providers can empower families to be change agents in their own lives, and can tailor their services to address maternal and infant health, wellness, safety, healthy development, economic stability, self-sufficiency, and other outcomes that are important to the family.”
— Lindquist
DHHS plans to allocate $100,000 for the project. It will issue a maximum award of $100,000 and a minimum award of $40,000. Applicants must provide services in Berrien County.
“The purpose of this project is supporting LLGs to work within their local or regional communities to support a comprehensive home visiting system that includes many services and will connect pregnant people (and) young children and their families to supports they need,” Lindquist said. “We hope LLGs will do this by creating a coordinated home visiting system that is focused and intentional around improving the well-being of families and children in high-need communities, ultimately reducing disparities in health and development.”
Funding for the Berrien County LLG will be issued over five months, beginning on May 1st and ending on Sept. 30th.
“Proposals should focus on how you intend to support a comprehensive home visiting system that will reach these individuals,” Lindquist said.