Home visiting leaders push expansion, data mapping and advocacy day at the Capitol

Lisa Williams (Kansas State Department of Education) and Holly Frey (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) described the State Home Visiting Leadership Team’s four priorities: workforce, statewide expansion, advocacy and family capacity. They said the team is working with the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research to map where home visiting services are available and where gaps remain, and to use that data to guide expansion.

Holly Frey described an in‑person, regional home‑visiting conference held simultaneously across five locations to reduce travel burdens; organizers reported roughly 400 attendees. Frey also urged participation in a Home Visiting Advocacy Day at the Capitol on March 4 (Second Floor Rotunda, North Wing) and noted registration details were in the All In newsletter. Lisa Williams emphasized that home visiting programs span a range of service intensities—from short one‑to‑six visit models to multi‑year models—and that the leadership team works to align service models with family needs.

The leadership team said expansion work is tied to grant opportunities (for example, MCH universal home‑visiting grant outreach), workforce supports and converting referrals into sustained enrollments. The panel asked members to share resources and to use the All In weekly newsletter and webinar platform to promote events and opportunities.