The purpose of federal funding is to identify the most effective early childhood home visiting programs and strengthen them with standards that will produce measurable and efficient outcomes. AsBeginning ofwith Octoberthe 2013,programs 17 states have introduced 32 bills on Home Visiting Programs before legislature. Beginninginception Septemberin 2010, the Department of [[Health and Human Services]] (HHS) awardedawards grants to states to develop and implement an early childhood home visitation program to promote.:<ref name="ncsl_b">National Conference of State Legislature. [http://www.ncsl.org/documents/health/NCSLVisitGrants.pdf NCSL Fact Sheet on Health Reform. Grants for Early Childhood Home Visitation programs]. Retrieved Oct 20, 2013.</ref>
