08.10.2022

BETTENDORF, IOWA - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) met with families served by the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) and home visitors who provide the services at the Genesis Visiting Nurses Association Home Healthcare Services yesterday. The roundtable discussion was held as part of Grassley's annual 99 county meetings across Iowa.

"The MIECHV program serves many mothers and children across the state of Iowa. It's critical that we support the most vulnerable in our society and this program has been a successful tool to improve the livelihoods of at-risk families. I'm proud to support this program so it continues to provide resources that best fit the communities it serves," Grassley said.

"Home visiting provides vital support for families in need across Iowa and the rest of the country. As a pediatrician with expertise in early childhood development, I've seen how MIECHV improves the health and well-being of my own patients and creates a strong foundation for families. I'm grateful this program has Senator Grassley's longstanding and continued support. We must ensure home visiting is reauthorized and its funding is expanded without delay so that families can continue to rely on it," Dr. Amy Shriver, a pediatrician in Des Moines, Iowa, and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood Executive Committee, said.

Grassley previously led the legislation to reauthorize the bipartisan Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) for another five-year extension in 2017, and is working to ensure another timely reauthorization this year. The program supports at-risk pregnant women and families and helps the parents of children from birth to kindergarten with home visits by a nurse, social worker, early childhood educator or other trained professional to improve maternal and child health, prevent child abuse and neglect, increase positive parenting, and enhance child development and school readiness. Grassley is also a co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth.

This is Grassley's 42nd year of holding meetings in every one of Iowa's 99 counties. Grassley has held at least one meeting in every county, every year since he was first elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. He takes questions on any subject. Iowans set the agenda.

Photos from yesterday's meeting in Bettendorf can be found HERE.

A link to Senator Grassley's social media post can be found HERE. Follow along using the hashtag #99countymeetings.