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Committee lays over funding proposal for Parent Child Plus home‑visiting expansion
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Summary
House File 9‑94 would provide additional funding for the Parent Child Plus replication in Minnesota; committee heard multiple success stories from providers and families and laid the measure over for possible inclusion.
Rep. Katia Kotyza‑Witthuhn presented House File 9‑94 seeking additional state funding for the Parent Child Plus program, a home‑visiting, school‑readiness replication run in Minnesota by Jewish Family and Children's Service and partners.
Amy Weiss, chief program officer at Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis, described Parent Child Plus as a twice‑weekly home‑visiting program for children ages roughly 16 months to 2½ years; early learning specialists bring books and educational toys and model parent‑child interactions. Weiss said the statewide replication began in 2006 and today serves 387 children in Minnesota, with 280 in the Twin Cities and 157 in Greater Minnesota; the program reported more than 8,100 home visits by midyear and projects over 16,000 visits this program year.
Sarah Wise, an early learning specialist, and local partner Jen Barrientos described individual child progress and family stabilization examples, including a child who arrived nonverbal and, after two years in the program and referral to speech services, was ready for school. Weiss cited an ROI figure provided by a private funder that every dollar spent returns $5.55.
The committee laid House File 9‑94 over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill; members noted the program’s intensive home visit model and asked for more time to consider funding.
