KRS 211.689: Agencies receiving state funds for home visitation services.

(1) As used in this section and KRS 211.690:

(a) "Home visitation" means a service delivery strategy with voluntary

participation of at-risk parents during the prenatal period and until the child's

third birthday that provides visits by nurses, social workers, and other

professionals or trained and supervised paraprofessionals to improve

maternal, infant, and child health and well-being, including:

1. Reducing preterm births;

2. Promoting positive parenting practices;

3. Improving school readiness;

4. Enhancing the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children;

5. Reducing child abuse and neglect;

6. Improving the health of the family; and

7. Empowering families to be self-sufficient;

(b) "Home visitation program" means the voluntary statewide home visiting

program established by KRS 211.690 or a program implementing a research -

based model or a promising model that includes voluntary home visit ation as

a primary service delivery strategy that may supplement but shall not

duplicate any existing program that provides assistance to parents and that

does not include:

1. Programs with few or infrequent home visits;

2. Home visits based on professional judgment or medical referrals that are

infrequent and supplemental to a treatment plan;

3. Programs in which home visiting is supplemental to other services, such

as child protective services;

4. In-home services delivered to at -risk parents through prov isions of an

individualized family service plan or individualized education program

under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B or

C; or

5. Programs with goals related to direct intervention of domestic violence

or substance abuse;

(c) "Research-based model" means a home visitation model based on a clear,

consistent program model that:

1. Is research -based, grounded in relevant empirically based knowledge,

linked to program determined outcomes, has comprehensive home

visitation sta ndards that ensure high -quality service delivery and

continuous quality improvement, and has demonstrated significant,

sustained positive outcomes;

2. Employs highly trained and competent professionals or

paraprofessionals who are provided close supervisio n and continual

professional development and training relevant to the specific model

being delivered;

3. Demonstrates strong linkages to other community-based services; and

4. Is operated within an organization to ensure program fidelity and meets

the outlined objectives and criteria for the model design; and

(d) "Promising model" means a home visitation model that has ongoing research,

is modeled after programs with proven standards and outcomes, and has

demonstrated its effectiveness or is actively incorp orating model evaluation

protocols designed to measure its efficacy.

(2) An agency receiving state funds for the purpose of the delivery of home visitation

services shall:

(a) Meet the definition of home visitation program in this section;

(b) Demonstrate to the Department for Public Health that it is part of a

coordinated system of care for promoting health and well -being for at -risk

parents during the prenatal period and until the child's third birthday; and

(c) Report data to the statewide home visiting data system managed by the

Department for Public Health in a uniform format prescribed by the

department ensuring common data elements, relevant home visiting data, and

information to monitor program effectiveness, including program outcomes,

numbers of fa milies served, and other relevant data as determined by the

department.