REFERENCE TITLE: nurse home visitor grant program

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

 

 

 

HB 2828

 

Introduced by

Representatives Lopez: Peņa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending title 8, chapter 4, article 1, arizona revised statutes, by adding section 8-469.03; appropriating monies; relating to the department of child safety.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 8, chapter 4, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 8-469.03, to read:

START_STATUTE8-469.03. Nurse home visitor grant program; eligible organization; requirements; annual report

A. The department shall establish a nurse home visitor grant program. The department shall administer the grant program.  The grant program is established to do all of THE following:

1. Prevent child maltreatment and neglect.

2. improve maternal and child health and child development.

3. promote a family's economic mobility.

B. The department shall award monies from the grant program at least annually to one eligible organization.  The eligible organization shall use grant monies to provide voluntary, evidence-based nurse home visitor services for three years to low-income pregnant women who voluntarily enroll in the program.  The grant program shall be available through the second birthday of a CHILD who is born to a woman who is enrolled in the program.  The eligible organization shall provide all of the following:

1. Assessments and screenings.

2. Care coordination.

3. Case management.

4. preventative education and counseling.

5. Interventions and referrals to health and human services providers.

6. Educational or job development resources.

C. Organizations that are eligible to receive grant monies pursuant to subsection B of this section include:

1. Public and private entities.

2. Nonprofit organizations.

3. Municipal and county organizations.

4. Tribal nations.

D. IN awarding grant monies, the department shall give preference to organizations that:

1. Provide services in this state.

2. Provide services that are delivered by a registered nurse.

3. Provide services that meet the criteria established by the United States department of health and human services for an evidence-based early childhood home VISITING service delivery model that has demonstrated, as of January 1, 2026, favorable results for reduction in child maltreatment.  The model shall be ranked as a well-supported service in the title IV-E prevention services clearinghouse to prevent foster care placements and provide enhanced support to children and families through an in-home parenting skills-based service.

4. Can demonstrate either the ability to provide services on the receipt of grant monies or the ability to deliver services within ninety days after receiving grant monies.

5. Can provide services in the program participant's home, via telehealth services or at another location that is selected by the program participant.

e. An organization that receives grant monies PURSUANT to this section shall submit to the department data as prescribed by the children's health bureau title IV-E prevention program data elements to the extent the data is collected as a standard practice of the delivery of the grant program services.  the organization shall submit The data for the PURPOSE of evaluating successful delivery of grant program services. 

F. On or before August 31, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, the department shall publish a report that includes all of the FOLLOWING information for the previous fiscal year:

1. The number of grants awarded by the grant program.

2. The name of the organizations that received grant monies.

3. The number of grant program participants who were served.

4. The number of unduplicated participants who enrolled DURING the reporting period for each organization that was awarded monies by the grant program.

5. The total number of hours that were spent providing nurse home visitor services.

6. Data and information that are deemed necessary by the department and that measure the health and well-being of grant program participants and their children to the extend that the data and information are collected and reported as a standard practice in the course of the delivery of the grant program. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Delayed repeal

Section 8-469.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, is repealed from and after December 31, 2030.

Sec. 3. Appropriations; nursing home visitor grant program; exemption

A. The sum of $6,000,000 and five FTE positions are appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2026-2027 to the department of child safety for the nurse home visitor grant program established pursuant to section 8-469.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act. The department may use up to $382,500 of the monies appropriated in each of fiscal years 2026-2027, 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 to administer the program.

B. The appropriation made in subsection A of this section is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations, until December 31, 2030.

Sec. 4. Legislative findings

The legislature finds and declares that:

1. Pregnant women, to adequately care for a newborn or young child, often benefit from voluntarily receiving professional assistance and information.

2. Without this assistance and information, a pregnant woman may develop habits or practices that are detrimental to her health and well-being and the health and well-being of her child.

3. Inadequate prenatal care and inadequate care in infancy and early childhood often inhibit a child's ability to learn and develop throughout childhood and may have lasting, adverse effects on the child's ability to function as an adult.

4. The implementation of an evidence-based nurse home visitor program that has been ranked, as of January 1, 2026, by the United States department of health and human services as a well-supported service in the title IV-E prevention services clearinghouse to prevent foster care placements and provide enhanced support to children and families through an in-home parenting skills-based service that demonstrates favorable results for reduction in child maltreatment and that provides educational, health and other resources for women from pregnancy through the first two years of a child's life has been proven to significantly reduce the risk of premature birth, drug use, including nicotine and alcohol abuse, criminal activity that is committed by a woman or the woman's child who is under fifteen years of age and the reported number of incidents of child abuse and neglect.

5. Receiving professional assistance and information has been proven to reduce a woman's need for other forms of public assistance and to increase a woman's educational and employment opportunities.