The recent collaboration between Children Now and CCRC around the article “How Home Visitors And A New Law Ensure Families Don’t Navigate Challenges Alone” offers a powerful example of what meaningful, family-centered policy and practice can look like in action. Led by CCRC’s Home Visiting Program Managers, LaRiesha Floyd and Eileen Pierce, their life’s work brings the article’s insights to life by centering real family experiences and strengthening how home visiting services are delivered on the ground. Both LaRiesha and Eileen’s dedication, effort, care, and commitment on this article helps highlight how thoughtful implementation can translate into more responsive, connected support systems for families.
At the heart of this conversation is AB 607, a California law designed to strengthen and better coordinate home visiting services across the state. Home visiting programs – where trained professionals support families during pregnancy and early childhood – have long been proven to improve outcomes in health, education, and economic stability. These programs, including CCRC’s award-winning Home Visiting program, create a bridge of support to ensure families faced with navigating comprehensive family systems are not doing so alone at a time when access to basic needs and family affordability may seem out of reach. Without alignment and accessibility, families can struggle to find and navigate these services. AB 607 directly addresses that gap by promoting a more unified, equitable system.
Why AB 607 Matters
AB 607 ensures that:
- Families are connected to the right services
- Home visiting programs are better integrated across counties and providers
- Equity is prioritized so underserved communities are not left behind
Additionally, this new law strengthens the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program by ensuring families receive services for the full duration of their intended home visiting models – typically three to five years – rather than being arbitrarily removed at 24 months or when a child turns two.
Instead of navigating a fragmented system alone, parents are guided by professionals who understand their needs and can connect them to resources ranging from heath care to early support. And with AB 607 now law, California has affirmed the importance of long-term, relationship-based home visiting services. The next step is ensuring the state’s budget aligns with that commitment. Unstable funding of programs limits access, strains the workforce, and disrupts services that establishes child and family resilience.
Additional funding would allow programs to strengthen both access and quality by:
- Expanding enrollment and reaching more families
- Strengthening family supports, including food, books, developmental toys, clothing, and essential baby items
- Investing in staff training, specialization, and equitable wages
- Supporting workforce stability and program growth
CCRC’s Commitment to Families
Home Visiting really stands in the gap for parents and families to access resources and other services that they wouldn’t otherwise be aware of. They welcome the support of someone that can provide long-term services, because that allows time for navigation, advocacy, and follow-up. Staff that are committed to this field, some of whom were past participants and went through the same challenges, wish there was someone there to have helped them.
CCRC strongly believes that the implementation of AB 607 is a critical step toward a more coordinated and equitable home vising system. This law has the potential to streamline referrals, ensure families are connected to the right service deliveries at the right time, and so much more. More importantly, it helps create a more seamless experience for families – one where they feel supported rather than overwhelmed.
Home visiting reinforces stability, builds collective capacity, and ensures that children are surrounded by informed and supported adults committed to their well-being. Future home visiting legislative policies and state funding must build upon the successes illustrated by families’ impact stories as evidence of what to fund and scale. If you have a story, we would love to hear it – learn more by clicking here. If you are interested in learning more about CCRC’s legislative efforts, please visit our Legislative Corner.
Beyond the Article: A Long-Term Vision
While this collaboration between CCRC and Children Now is significant, its true value lies in what it signals for the future. This partnership is so much more than a blog. It represents an alignment between community-based practice and statewide advocacy, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for children and families.
Ongoing partnerships can influence future legislation that supports early childhood systems, and help build a more coordinated network of care across California. In a landscape where child and family well-being depends on both strong policy and effective service, this kind of collaboration is essential. No single organization can tackle these challenges alone – but together, they can help create systems that are more efficient. We would like to thank Children Now for their commitment to supporting children and families.
The partnership between Children Now, CCRC’s Government Relations team, and CCRC’s Home Visiting forms a beautiful trifecta – advancing whole-child, whole-family systems of support that improve family well-being and help drive meaningful narrative change. To learn more about CCRC’s Home Visiting Program and to apply, please click here.