Objective: To evaluate the costs and savings to government programs (e.g., welfare, Medicaid, nutrition programs) of a nurse-home-visitation program for at-risk women through pregnancy with their first child and continuing through the first two years of the child's life.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Memphis, Tennessee of approximately 1000 primarily young, low-income, and African-American women to understand the effects of nurse home-visitation on government costs and savings--as well as the effects on maternal life-course and child development up through when the child is age four-and-a-half.
Results: Past studies of a similar program in a primarily rural and white cohort in Elmira, New York showed savings to government by the time the children were four years old. Nurse-visited families in Elmira cost the government $1,772 less (1980 dollars) than their counterparts in the control group. Low-income families who had been visited by a nurse cost the government $3,313 less than those not visited. The home visitation program in Memphis was conducted by the same set of researchers as the program in Elmira. Preliminary analysis of the Memphis data also shows savings to government programs, primarily through an increase in employment and a reduction in subsequent children in the visited families. Final analysis of the Memphis four-and-a-half year data will be completed before the conference.
Implications: Given the recent changes in the federal welfare system, programs that successfully move families from welfare dependence to work are vitally important.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Understand the characteristics of a nurse-home-visitation program for at-risk women during pregnancy with their first child and continuing through the first two years of the child's life. 2. Understand how an economic evaluation of home visitation was conducted to determine the associated costs and savings to government programs (e.g., welfare, Medicaid, nutrition programs) through the child's first four-and-a-half years of life
Keywords: Economic Analysis, Home Visiting
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.