As families across California feel increased pressure managing more with fewer resources and less certainty, they are often asked to be resilient.
Home visiting programs, in these challenging moments, meet families where they are, literally and figuratively. They offer consistent, relationship-based support during pregnancy and throughout early childhood, providing a critical service for families with young children during one of the most vulnerable and challenging transitions in life. When families are stretched thin, home visiting helps ensure they are not navigating challenges alone.
That is why the signing of AB 607 (Rodriguez) by Governor Gavin Newsom was so significant. The 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. This change recognizes what families and providers have long shared: meaningful, lifelong impact requires time.
This milestone reflects nearly a decade of advocacy and partnership, building on earlier legislative efforts as well as Children Now’s 2023 statewide interviews, recommendations, and Statewide Approach to Strengthen Home Visiting in California report. AB 607 is both a win for kids and families and a clear affirmation that relationship-based support works, formally recognizing the critical role of trusted, sustained relationships between home visiting providers and parents.
Why Home Visiting Matters Now More Than Ever
As part of our statewide interviews that informed AB 607, we spoke with the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) about what families are navigating right now and how home visiting continues to show up as a source of stability during uncertain times. CCRC offers home visiting and a wide range of programs for both parents and child care providers, which have grown over the last four decades thanks to outreach into the communities of the Antelope, San Fernando, and Santa Clarita Valleys, as well as the entirety of San Bernardino County.
CCRC spoke candidly about the realities families are facing, especially in mixed-status households. Fear, uncertainty, and concerns about safety are shaping daily life, and programs have had to respond quickly to ensure families can continue receiving support. Home visiting programs have modified their service delivery to prioritize safety and trust. Families and home visitors establish agreed-upon signals, flag concerns, and when needed meet in alternative locations when neighborhoods feel unsafe. This flexibility is not incidental. It is core to what makes home visiting effective. Families are also relying more heavily on consistent, reliable support, including asking directly for guidance, reassurance, and help with navigating resources. Group connections continue both virtually and in person, with programs ready to pivot to hybrid models to prevent disruption. Sustaining engagement is essential, particularly as isolation and instability increase.
At the same time, economic stress is intensifying. Families are navigating income loss, job instability, and shifting household circumstances, often forced to choose between food, rent, or medication. This is further substantiated by the recent 2025 California Rapid Survey illustrating nearly three in four families with young children reported difficulty in the past month meeting one or more basic needs – the highest rate in three years. In these moments, home visitors serve as critical navigators, helping families secure food assistance, rental relief, and health services, even as community providers struggle with limited capacity and growing need.
Despite all these immense challenges, trust and consistency are what keep families engaged in home visiting programs. Families share photos of their children practicing activities discussed during visits. Parents eagerly await their upcoming visits alongside their home visitor, with older siblings often included in sessions. Fathers participate in visits, mental health screenings, group connections, and graduation events. These relationships extend beyond the child and reflect a whole-family approach that strengthens long-term outcomes. Home visiting recognizes and embraces the diverse family structures that shape a child’s life, including single-parent households and kinship care arrangements. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other caregivers who share responsibility for raising the child are welcomed into visits and supported as essential partners in caregiving. By engaging family members involved in caregiving, home visiting reinforces stability, builds collective capacity, and ensures that children are surrounded by informed and supported adults committed to their well-being.
One story shared underscored just how critical these relationships can be. During a scheduled home visit, a home visitor arrived to find a client experiencing severe chest pain. The home visitor called 911, stayed with the parent while emergency services arrived, helped care for her child, and followed up afterward. The parent later shared that she was home, recovering, and committed to prioritizing her health moving forward. Reflecting on the experience, the home visitor shared that being present in that moment may have changed the outcome entirely.
“This is why consistency matters,” CCRC told us. “Home visiting is about being there, sometimes in moments you don’t expect.”
Challenges Home Visiting Programs Continue to Face
CCRC pointed to frequent budget changes that create uncertainty for staffing and service delivery. Recent communications about potential funding increases are encouraging. However, constant shifts make long-term planning difficult and keep programs reactive.
At the same time, families continue to need more support, particularly food assistance, housing stability, and access to basic necessities, while community resources are increasingly underfunded or overextended. Home visiting is built on person-centered support within community, and when communities experience instability, those impacts show up directly in the lives of families and staff. Programs continue to adapt to meet these challenges, but ongoing insecurity remains a significant barrier to sustainability and growth.
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
Some members of CCRC’s team are also former home visiting participants themselves, an example of how long-term investment strengthens both families and the systems designed to serve them.
Looking Ahead: Why the May Revise is Critical
The Governor’s January 2026 budget proposal restores funding for the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program, signaling an important shift from earlier proposed cuts. In the May 2024 Revision, the Administration proposed a $47.1 million ongoing reduction, which is a 40 percent across-the-board cut. After strong advocacy, legislative pushback, and budget negotiations, the final budget instead adopted a reduced $30 million cut in 2023–24 and temporary $25 million reductions in 2024–25 and 2025–26, roughly a 20 percent reduction largely tied to underutilized funds.
This creates an important window of opportunity to continue our collective advocacy and sustain funding, so home visiting programs can fully deliver on the promise of AB 607 and provide services to families for three to five years. Children Now and our partners will continue to fight to ensure full restoration is secured in the final approved budget, and home visiting is affirmed as a core part of California’s support system for families.
We want to thank the team at CCRC for contributing to this blog post and their tireless efforts to support children and families.
To learn more about home visiting or get involved, visit our Early Childhood Hub or connect with us at [email protected].
